Christmas Fest is a four-figure fundraiser

​​​A massive thank you must go to everybody who supported our Christmas Fest – which raised thousands of pounds for charity.

The festive fundraiser, held on Friday 4 December in the restaurant at Park Campus, saw staff, students and visitors enjoy a variety of stalls, mulled wine, free mince pies, a tombola and a raffle – and even meet the big man himself, Father Christmas.

Real reindeer and a rodeo Christmas pudding ride were also popular attractions at the event, which was organised by Laura Bushell, Amanda Nicols, Leanne Matthews and Shelby Hill in the University’s Marketing department.

A grand total of £4,594 was raised for cancer charity Myeloma UK.

Laura said: “We are amazed by the amount of money we raised, it was such a bonus to the fantastic day that we had. We couldn’t have hoped for a better day, the sun was shining and there was such a great atmosphere on campus. All of the money raised has gone directly to Myeloma UK which is such a great cause as it is a smaller, less-recognised charity, which we wanted to raise awareness for.”

Myeloma is a type of cancer which comes from plasma cells found in bone marrow. This can affect the spine, skull, pelvis and the rib cage, as well as in the arms and legs. Despite Myeloma representing only 1 per cent of all cancers, it affects over 4,800 people every year.

Myeloma UK is the only charity in the United Kingdom to deal specifically with this unique type of cancer. It aims to help patients to live for longer, and with a better quality of life, by accelerating the discovery of new treatments, as well as helping develop and give patients access to it. It also works closely with families affected by myeloma, helping them to come to terms with diagnoses, and assisting them with everyday life. However, the charity receives no government funding, and therefore rely on donations such as that coming from Christmas Fest, to continue their life changing work.

Photos from the event can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/charitychristmasfest/photos_stream

You can still donate money to Myeloma UK via the Christmas Fest Just Giving fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/ChristmasFest2015/