PART TWO:
You may remember last week’s spotlight about Dave Whittaker and his cancer journey . We wanted to celebrate his amazing support for Bright Red and thank him for his charitable achievements.
In 2013, Dave was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia and went into remission later that year. Unfortunately, it returned in 2016. Since then, Dave has been a loyal Bright Red member. He started fundraising after having first-hand support from Bright Red: “When I went for my stem cell transplant I was fortunate enough to stay in one of the refurbished rooms funded by Bright Red. One of my first specialist nurses and then Sarah Blakely were Bright Red sponsored nurses. They helped me enormously and were very supportive.”
During the first lockdown, Dave and a group of colleagues decided to put aside £1 each day until the end of lockdown. This happened to be 100 days, so they all handed £100 each to Bright Red. His friends knew how much the charity meant to him so were happy to help.
He adds: “I thought it was time to give back. Bright Red has become friendly over the last few years. They are also a local charity. I think large charities like Cancer Research receive millions so when I donate it seems like a tiny ripple in a big pond, whereas Bright Red needs every penny that they get. Meanwhile, it is all spent locally and that’s the reason why I started supporting Bright Red.”
Every year at Dave’s local golf club they have a nominated charity, and any funds raised throughout the year goes to that charity. While speaking to the golf club, it was agreed that Bright Red and Winterburn Hospice would be the two chosen charities of the year. They raised £1500 for each charity. Dave says: “I feel accomplished knowing we’ve managed to raise so much for the charities. Particularly this year when the charities are suffering with COVID. It was a real boost to be able to give something back.”
To read more about Dave’s inspiring cancer journey – find Part One here
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