Launch Day for Mission 50 was on Tuesday 1st February 2022. The day where I started my crazy Mission to aim to raise £50,000 in my 50th year for the blood cancer charity DKMS_UK
My day started as it normally does with a 5km walk (or stomp as I like to call it!) in the Devon country lanes where I live. It’s the best way to start the day; pulse raising, stunning views and fabulous company! Walking in the moonlight and watching the sun coming up, for me, is simply perfect!
Home, and after updating Strava (obviously!) I started my usual morning routine of cooking breakfast for the family and sending everyone on their merry way to start their days at work and school.
Although this day was not any ordinary day…
This was the day I officially started my crazy Mission to raise a whole heap of money for DKMS.
Oh my goodness!!
There have been a few sleepless nights that’s for sure – what am I doing???
Interview with Georgina, Fundraising Manager at DKMS
I was interviewed by Georgina, one of the fabulous fundraising managers at the charity, where we shared on an Instagram Live all about the Mission that Georgina and I had been talking about for months and months.
In fact we first started talking about doing a big fundraising event before the pandemic and now the day was here! Find out about my nursing background, why raising finances and awareness for blood cancer is so important to me, my biggest worry, what my children think about the Mission and much more my clicking the link below.
So you see, a BIG Mission, a LOT of money to raise and a whole lot of nerves..
Every penny donated, every conversation started to support my Mission is very much welcomed. Please do follow my on Instagram to keep updated with what’s happening with the mission and more! If you are part of a corporate company and would like to get involved, please do get in touch.
The more people we can have a conversation with about blood cancer, becoming a potential lifesaver and how YOU can get involved, please do get in touch or follow any of the links above.
Finally, share and share alike; if you think your friends, family and colleagues would like to get involved, I’d love to hear from them too.
As a proud Ambassador for DKMS_UK and former Oncology nurse, I feel very privileged to be celebrating my 50th birthday in February 2022 – that got me thinking! Mission 50 for DKMS was born!
What if I could do something to raise awareness for DKMS around the number 50??
What if I made it my Mission in the year 2022 to raise as much awareness and as many funds as possible?
I started playing around with ideas…
Please consider this:
❣️Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukaemia, lymphoma or melanoma.
❣️Someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with blood cancer every 27 seconds.
❣️Only 30% of people diagnosed find a donor match within their family, that’s why swab kits to find donors are so important.
I’m calling on my friends, family and you to join me in anyway you can. Whether it be a training run, an event or donating a raffle prize, or donating to my fundraising page… Just think if everyone reading this page donated, we’d get there in no time! Imagine!!
Finalised calendar will be shared with you over the coming weeks and months. One thing for sure it that it won’t be easy! I’m not at all fit and lockdown poundage is real!!!
Anything to help would be a huge support. You know I am a huge fan of paying it forward and random acts of kindness and now, more than ever, I think we all need a little something to brighten our day and week.
For someone diagnosed with blood cancer, a blood stem cell donation from a matching donor could be their last chance of survival, but what does it mean to become a stem cell donor?
Firstly, let’s talk about what DKMS is and why their work is so important..
Peter Harf, founder of Delete Blood Cancer DKMS speaks about our mission and the need for bone marrow donors.
Every 27 seconds, someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with blood cancer.
How do I know I can donate my Stem Cells?
If you are aged between 17 and 55 years and in general good health, then you may be able to register as a blood stem cell donor.
If you register when you are 17, you will not be able to donate blood stem cells yet, but on your 18th birthday, you will automatically be activated in our database and included in the global donor searches.
What’s involved in donating blood stem cells?
DKMS_UK followed Tom, a blood stem cell donor’s journey through The London Clinic on donation day, hearing his experience of being called on to donate as well as insight into the process from staff and experts. Take a look at this 3 minute video to find out more. Gives me goosebumps every time I watch it!
“Someone, somewhere has a little part of you with them forever”
jade
Jade, 30, registered with DKMS after watching a friend’s mum go through cancer. A few years later, she gave a complete stranger a second chance of life by donating her blood stem cells.
“Knowing that little bag of goodness is potentially going to save someone’s life who you’ve never met is incredibly hard to describe until you do it.
It’s the most surreal feeling, so to anyone thinking about it – do it!”
Jade
Just 2% of the UK’s population is currently on the stem cell register.. Alongside my Mission50forDKMS to raise £50K in my 50th year for DKMS, it is also my Mission to help change this statistic. If you can get involved or you know someone who would like to like to get involved, please, please do let them know!
We need all the help and support we can to help as many people as possible delete their blood cancer.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d share some thoughts and ideas about sharing the love – not just to those you love but to YOU too!
Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine and is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Western Christian Feast Day, honouring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and is recognised as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.
What do you traditionally do on Valentines Day? Go all out, with chocolates, flowers and a meal? Or ignore the whole event?
As a couple (seeing as my Birthday is the day before Valentines Day) we don’t usually have a big celebration on the 14th February! The teasing he got whenever we went out for a meal on the 13th “Getting the brownie points in early Sir??” or “Don’t blame you, going out the night before, much cheaper!!” were usual questions! Not annoying in the slightest!
We often think that Valentines Day is for the young lovers and some possibly would think this day is even a commercial gimmick but this year, I believe we could all do with a little more love and a little less worry, judgement, no huge gestures required – the pandaemic has changed so much of our lives and we appreciated the little things so much more, don’t you think?
Valentine’s Day in Finland, called ystävänpäivä which translates into “Friend’s Day”. As the name indicates, this day is more about remembering friends, not significant others.
So with this in mind, here are some thoughts that you could treat yourself, your partner or even your best friend, to let them know you are thinking of them and that you care x x
You know I’m an absolute lover of sending Happy Post, I adore finding new brands and I’ve found The Toasted Crumpet and more recently Hip hip Hooray and am so pleased I have. Why not use this opportunity to send a card to someone you’ve not seen for a while or pop a card in the post to arrive in your home? I love the idea and traditions from Finland and might introduce that this year and beyond. What do you think?
The simpler things in life are MUCH more appreciated.
Home Spa Day
Bubble Baths or Spa Days aren’t for everyone – sometimes I struggle to sit still too! A relaxing bath, add candles, a good book, maybe even a glass of something lovely…! Lock the door and enjoy a few moments peace! Remember to leave your phone outside!
I currently loving the idea of a creating home spa. A gorgeous bath, comfy clothes, maybe even a DIY manicure, body scrub or mini facial! They won’t break the bank, leaving you feel a million dollars!
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt”
Charles M Schulz
Enjoy the Great Outdoors
Fancy packing up a flask of hot chocolate and head out into the great outdoors for a romantic walk..? We are blessed with the coast and Dartmoor on our doorstep admittedly,
I love The Outdoor Guide, a free inspirational portal connecting all things outdoors.
The Outdoor Guide is “a place for people who love getting outdoors, lacing up a pair of muddy boots and discovering new walking routes in the great outdoors. We’re building a collection of the very best hill walks, mountain walks, woodland walks, lake walks, river walks, coastal walks, village walks, city walks and pub walks, taking take you right to the heart of the finest scenery in Britain.”
It’s a fabulous site to explore and plan your walks. I’m sure you’ll find some fabulous new ones you didn’t know were there!
If in doubt, treat yourself to a little Sparkle!
I’ve been a huge fan of Catherine D’Crovecoeur for quite some time and adore her new collection “Amour Toujours” (Love Always) launched just yesterday. £1 from each pair of earrings sold from the “Amour Toujours” collection will go to the Women’s Aid Charity, helping to keep women and children safe from domestic abuse.
A little message each day..
Esty have some fabulous gifts, supporting small business. Love this Mug I bought my husband last year, a funny little reminder each day!
I also love the idea of a Jar of Dates.. Scribble some ideas of dates where you and your nearest and dearest love to go and pop them in a jar.. WHEN Lockdown is finally over and we can head back into a little normality, take it it turns to pick a date from the jar and enjoy! A fun thing to do with the family too!
It goes without saying that may favourite gift of all time to give any day, let alone Valentine’s Day, would be the Gift of Life. As an Ambassador for the Blood Cancer Charity, DKMS, I’d love you to take a look at the various different ways you can get involved in supporting this fabulous Charity.
Registering as a Donor A blood cancer diagnosis is a shock and often marks the start of a race against time. For many patients, their only chance of survival is to find a matching blood stem cell donor, as fast as possible. That is why donor profiles with all the relevant information, along with the best possible processes, are so important. It costs DKMS £40 to register each new potential blood stem celldonor, but costs YOU nothing. Read more:
With Valentines Day in mind, how about ending a hand in the fight against blood cancer by hosting a virtual #LetsNailBloodCancer party!
The money you raise at your party will help DKMS register more donors who could be a match for a blood cancer patient in need. Host a virtual mani-pedicure party for family, friends and colleagues. Taking part is easy and fun! #LetsNailBloodcancer together.
I’m sure if we asked any parent who’s been home schooling, working at home or a key worker – (in fact anyone!) these last few months what they’d love most, I’m sure a lie-in, time to read their favourite book or watch their favourite episode without interruption would feature quite readily on the list! I know it’s on mine!
The Gift of Time is precious and cost nothing! The world doesn’t always have to turn at a million miles an hour, agreed it is hard to get off the treadmill of life at times! Use this day to treat yourself or those in your household, the 14th February is a Sunday after all!
So many ideas about how you might do things a little differently this year.. I’d love to know what little things you might do to show your loved ones you care this Valentines and especially the little things to love YOU?
Wishing you a Happy forthcoming Valentines Day or as they say in Finland ystävänpäivä (Friends Day)
Home Spa Day 
