Women On the Move Against Cancer
Women On the Move Against Cancer (WOMAC) is a charity operating in the UK that is made up of around 65 female volunteers working in the automotive and associated industries. WOMAC organises events and activities to raise money for cancer charities. Over the years, WOMAC has donated more than £900,000 to cancer-related projects, searching for more effective treatments or improving the quality of life for cancer sufferers, their families and carers.
| Founded | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Location |
|
| Website | http://www.womac.co.uk/ |
How it began[edit]
In 1978, a young Grand Prix racing driver on the verge of a promising career was diagnosed as having terminal testicular cancer and was treated at a London hospital.[1]. His name was Gunnar Nilsson. In the weeks before he died aged just 29, he showed immense courage in organising help for other cancer sufferers.
After Gunnar Nilsson's death, others were inspired by his example and wanted to continue his work. In 1979, led by Jean Denton, Baroness Denton of Wakefield CBE (who died of cancer in February 2001), a group of women in the motor industry founded the organisation which is now known as WOMAC (Women On the Move Against Cancer)[2]
To begin with, WOMAC was able to donate £1,000 to the Gunnar Nilsson Foundation as proceeds from a luncheon. The following year a similar amount was also donated to charity; by the third year, WOMAC had caught the imagination of many people in the motor industry and it wasn't long before donations were into five figure sums.
Now, each year, 'The WOMAC Party' has become a major event in the motor industry's diary. It is an opportunity to meet old friends and, more importantly, an occasion where everyone can contribute funds to help to fight the disease which has affected so many.[3]
Where the money goes[edit]
WOMAC supports a different cancer project each year: to help patients at home as well as in a hospital or hospice, perhaps to provide equipment or buildings for the treatment of men, women or children. Sometimes the choice is determined by the care a friend, relation or colleague has received and sometimes another particularly worthy cause is brought to WOMAC's attention by the medical profession. Whichever cause WOMAC supports, the overriding concern is that we give as much money as we can to help the continuing fight against cancer.
How the money is raised[edit]
Everyone involved with WOMAC gives their time, energy and expertise for nothing. There are no hidden overheads - no extravagant expenses. Every penny which WOMAC raises goes to the charity it supports and since 1979 more than £900,000 has been donated.
Charities helped by WOMAC[edit]
| Year | Charity Supported |
| 1979 | Gunnar Nilsson Foundation |
| 1980 | Leukaemia Research Fund |
| 1981 | Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund |
| 1982 | St Christopher's Hospice |
| 1983 | St Christopher's Hospice |
| 1984 | Westminster Hospital (recovery room) |
| 1985 | Middlesex Hospital Urology Research Fund |
| 1986 | Malcolm Sargent Fund for Children |
| 1987 | London Hospital (cancer patient counselling) |
| 1988 | WOMAC Research Fellowship, Whittington Hospital |
| 1989 | WOMAC Research Fellowship, Whittington Hospital |
| 1990 | Westminster Hospital (counsellor) |
| 1991 | BACUP (breast cancer counsellor) |
| 1992 | Help Hammer Cancer, Hammersmith Hospital (day room) |
| 1993 | Help Hammer Cancer, Hammersmith Hospital (chemotherapy room) |
| 1994 | Royal Free Hospital (brain imaging scanner) |
| Cancer Call | |
| 1995 | Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund (children's nurse) |
| 1996 | Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund (bladder and prostate cancer nurse) |
| 1997 | Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund (cancer nurse) |
| 1998 | Sobell House Hospice, Oxford (palliative care team) |
| 1999 | Lucy's Roof Garden, Royal Marsden Hospital, London |
| Malignant melanoma research (Chelsea and Westminster Hospital) | |
| 2000 | UK Child Cancer Study Group (Cancer Research Campaign) |
| Odyssey | |
| St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey (decoration of counselling room for breast cancer sufferers) | |
| 2001 | BEN's cancer care unit at Alexandra House, Southport |
| Weston Park Cancer Trust (head-fix arc) | |
| Candlelighters, Leeds | |
| Video conferencing links with patients across Wales | |
| 2002 | The Royal College of Surgeons (bowel cancer treatment research project) |
| The Youth Cancer Trust | |
| The Kingston Hospital Cancer Unit Appeal | |
| Lucy Fund and a further bench in Lucy’s Garden, Royal Marsden Hospital | |
| 2003 | Dr Cunningham's Lymphoma Research Fund at the Royal Marsden Hospital |
| Willen Hospice, Milton Keynes | |
| Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton | |
| 2004 | Marie Curie Cancer Care (nurses based in Surrey) |
| St Luke's Hospice, Basildon | |
| 2005 | The Cancer Research and Treatment Trust (choriocarcinoma research) |
| The Peace Hospice, Watford | |
| Charing Cross Hospital | |
| Breast Cancer Care | |
| Hammersmith Hospital | |
| 2006 | The Orchid Cancer Appeal |
| The Isabel Hospice, Welwyn Garden City | |
| Malcolm's Fund | |
| 2007 | Myeloma UK (funding for 11th Myeloma specialist nurse) |
| Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, Farnham | |
| 2008 | Leukaemia Research Fund |
| Neuroblastoma Society | |
| 2009 | The Eve Appeal |
| The Little Princess Trust | |
| 2010 | Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust |
| 2011 | Beating Bowel Cancer |
| Heart of Kent Hospice | |
| 2012 | Action Against Cancer |
| 2013 | Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund |
| The Marcus Rutherford Foundation | |
| 2014 | Sarcoma UK |
| St Christopher's Hospice | |
| Velindre Fundraising | |
| 2015 | Fight Bladder Cancer |
| Cyclists Fighting Cancer | |
| The Lyla Nsouli Foundation | |
| Momentum | |
| 2016 | Prostate Cancer UK |
| Pancreatic Cancer UK | |
| 2017 | Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust |
| 2018 | Kidney Cancer Support Network |
References[edit]
- ↑ "Gunnar Nilsson", Wikipedia, 2018-07-24, retrieved 2018-08-29
- ↑ Langdon, Julia (2001-02-07). "Obituary: Lady Denton of Wakefield". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
- ↑ "MIPAA members invited to support WOMAC Silent Auctions - MIPAA". MIPAA. 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
This article "Women On the Move Against Cancer" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Women On the Move Against Cancer. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
