The New Year 2012 Appeal
To the Reader of this Website:
The total of the Cavernoma Alliance UK (CA UK) 2011 Christmas Appeal raised slightly over £3000. On behalf of the other CA UK trustees, we very much appreciate your contributions to our dwindling funds. In such a difficult financial time for us all, this was the first occasion that CA UK has appealed for help directly to both its members via email and the worldwide community through our volunteer-run website. With the rent of this office standing at £3000 that means CA UK can continue to pay the landlord! Thank you very much.
Our concern is that this generous contribution was made by just 40 individuals from a total membership of over 400 plus the potential to reach others throughout the world. Here is a reminder of the various services that CA UK provides.
The charity organises the International Brain Awareness Week Lecture, attendance at neurological/neurosurgical/genetic conferences to raise awareness. CA UK arranges CaverHubs throughout the country (although recently confined to London because of financial constraints), a CaverClinic with consultant neurosurgeon Mr. Neil Kitchen. And recently CA UK have introduced a bi-annual programme of Young Persons' CaverHubs with paediatric neurosurgeons as well as arranging the International Cavernoma Alliance UK Forum (shortly to be in its sixth year) whose past speakers have included Dr. Issam Awad, Professor Helmut Bertalanffy and the keynote speaker for 2012 Dr. Owen Sparrow, consultant neurosurgeon, from Southampton. All of these free events are executed by a volunteer co-ordinator and the volunteer board of trustees.
In addition, CA UK funds research projects (the part-funded CA UK 2011 scientific workshop in Chantilly, France, will shortly be producing its study entitled "Therapeutic Guidelines for the Management of CCM in Adults" available in 2012 on the CA UK website.) CA UK writes (so far unsuccessfully) numerous grants, is a member of countless professional neurological and health organisations and seeks to build its membership with the help of social networking sites such as facebook and Twitter.
Please will the remaining 90% of CA UK's membership as well as the wider cavernoma community help us by ensuring that, in addition to having secured the roof over our head for a further year, the charity can continue offering these vital cavernoma events, assisting those diagnosed with this condition and even help us to re-launch our CaverHub programme throughout the UK.
CA UK welcomes contributions to its New Year 2012 Appeal by giving as generously as you can by going to www.justgiving.com/cavernomaalliance/donate
Thank you. And have a Happy, Healthy, New Year.
Best wishes,
Ian Stuart Ph.D.
Founder-Member and Co-ordinator