The nominations are in. I've sifted out the ones that are neither national or local to the North East and Borders and have narrowed the choice to four as described below. Please do not comment in this thread. Please cast a vote by noon Wednesday 17th when the poll will close. Do not vote if you are not attending GMU. Only the votes of GMU attendees will be counted. Cancer Research UK. The world’s largest charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Their vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. One of our GMU buddies recently lost her partner to cancer. An active forum member also recently passed. Few of us haven't had a family member or friend affected in one way or another by one form of cancer or another. Fund raising support helps the charity to fund pioneering work into the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer. https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/ Marie Curie*. Every day of your life matters – from the first to the last. That's why the right care at the end of your life is so important. Marie Curie provides at-home nurses, volunteer helpers, and hospices to help people and their families living with a terminal illness make the most of the time they have together by delivering expert care, emotional support, research and guidance. https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/help AngelmanUK One of our regular GMU buddies has a son with the rare neurological disorder known as Angelman Syndrome which affects 1 in 20,000 births. Those affected typically have delayed development, severe learning difficulties, little or no speech and issues with movement and balance. Although life expectancy is normal, they will all require support throughout their lives. The charity is volunteer-led, has no paid staff and is run by a dedicated team of trustees who are all parents or siblings of someone with Angelman Syndrome. AngelmanUK not only helps support people with AS and their families, but also their carers and professionals who often have met few or no other individuals with Angelman Syndrome. https://www.angelmanuk.org/what-is-angelman-syndrome/ Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) operates three aircraft, based in the North of England, providing emergency air ambulance services covering North Yorkshire, the North-East, Cumbria and Scottish borders. In hours of darkness, when the helicopters do not fly, North East Ambulance Service funds a Medical Emergency Response Incident Team (MERIT) which is staffed by a doctor and paramedic team from GNAAS. Hopefully none of us will ever have need of Air Ambulance, but sadly many bikers do. On the way to the first Scottish Road Trip three of us witnessed an accident that resulted in a biker we were following being lifted by Air Ambulance to Glasgow. https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/ *Macmillan Nurses was also nominated. I've included Marie Curie over Macmillan, which received similar support, so as not to split the vote for palliative care. Like Macmillan, Marie Curie provides care to cancer patients, but in addition also to a wide range of terminal illnesses.
Very pleased to see Cancer Research UK was the winner. Will you be making the donation via my Just Giving webpage or direct. Thanks so much and so sorry I was not able to join you guys at the GMU. Hopefully next year. Hope everyone gets home safe and sound. I head back to Holland this evening on the ferry.
