"Lets make a Stand"is an event to raise fund for Cancer Research UK is being held at The Paycare Ground

At the Paycare Ground during August Bank Holiday Weekend on Sunday 25th August a charity event is being held “Lets make a Stand” to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

During 11 am and 5 pm a fete will be held on two of the three bowling greens, there will be stalls such as a Tombola, locally made craft items, cakes & sweets, bouncy castle’s, local businesses and loads more. Also, Darlaston’s Youth and Ladies teams will be playing at The Paycare Ground during the course of the day, as they look to finish their pre-season campaign ready for the start of their league seasons in early September.

The event has been organised by Darlaston resident Natalie Barnes. When asked about the event Natalie said “I asked my good friend Anton Allen (A committee member at Darlaston Town), about the possibility of organising a charity event for Cancer Research UK, using the club.

Shortly after the discussion, in fact within a few days, a meeting to plan and organise the event was held, attended by like minded people, who’s lives like my own has been impacted by cancer. From starting an event with just two people who are passionate about making a change (hence the title of the event) things have snowballed very quickly the support we have had has been staggering”.

Natalie added “We wanted to raised awareness of the charity as well as raising much needed funds to provide valuable research into the many forms of cancer. The support of people who care for you means just as much as caring for the person who is going through treatment. Without support, hard work and solidarity, cancer would grip us harder than it does, we want to show, collectively if we fight this together everyone can beat this.”
Cancer Research is the worlds largest charity dedicated to saving lives through research, there vision is to bring forward the day when ALL cancers are cured.

On a personal note, cancer has touched my life in many ways, losing all four Grandparents before I was 13 years old in the early 1970’s was very difficult and devastating. My grandfather was an ardent supporter of Cancer Research in the late 60’s and early 70’s, I went to many events with him, fetes, carnivals, standing on street corners rattling collection tins, and the major fundraiser of the year at the time, posting those little turquoise blue envelopes with white logo’s and writing through hundreds of doors in Oldbury, only to go back 3 or 4 days later, knock each door and collect everyone’s donations, however little or large.

From what I see Cancer Research has not changed it does the same work now as it did then, but in the last 40 plus years the organisation has made huge steps forward in the treatment of and prevention of cancer. In the 1970s, less than a quarter of people with cancer survived. But over the last 40 years, survival has doubled – today half will survive. Our ambition is to accelerate progress and see three-quarters of people surviving the disease within the next 20 years.