LOVE LOCAL
DofE volunteering Duke of Edinburgh’s Award students from Stephen Perse Cambridge have spent more than 3,000 hours supporting local community causes since April 2024, increasing their volunteer hours by 30% compared to 23/24. The estimated social value of the hours is more than £19,000. Co-op funding The East of England Co-op’s latest grant funding has benefitted three local projects: Lifecraft received £5,000 to run hubs for adults with severe mental health issues; Camsight will use £2,200 to provide Pilates sessions for blind or partially sighted individuals; and the 14th Cambridge Scout Group has been given £2,000 for camping tents and to subsidise activities. Charity golf Peterborough housebuilder Allison Homes has raised almost £38,000 for Marie Curie through its first charity golf day, which brought together 19 teams made up of partners, subcontractors and Allison Homes employees, all uniting for a day of friendly competition and fundraising. Community grant Sarah, a resident of Cockcroft Place in Cambridge, has transformed a community garden with a grant from housing association Peabody. She applied through The Kerslake Award, which offers grants for local projects in memory of Peabody’s late chair, Lord Bob Kerslake. MORE CHARITY UPDATES
Dragon Boat glory Teams taking part in the 2025 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival have done it again – beating last year’s fundraising total to raise an impressive £40,000 for the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital. A total of 43 teams and around 600 competitors raced 30ft dragon boats up a 200-metre stretch of river at Fen Ditton. Many of the teams dressed up for the annual event, which was organised by NewWave Events for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) and sponsored for the second year running by Illumina. Festival champions were novice team Bango, who achieved a time of 62.79 seconds.
THE CAM TURNS PINK! On 21 September, around 5,000 pink rubber ducks floated down the River Cam in Cambridge, raising money for breast cancer support charity, Pink Ribbon Foundation. The inaugural Pink Duck Race was a huge success, with hundreds attending the colourful event and thousands more joining online for the live stream. Each duck was bought from a £5 donation, with all of the money directly supporting the charity. “Every duck in that water represented a donation, hope, strength and support for vital services across Cambridge and the rest of the UK,” said Pink Ribbon Foundation’s Lisa Allen.
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