Welcome to Macmillan Cancer Support’s centenary celebration blog! Here you can share your centenary fundraising ideas and experiences with others and how you are celebrating Macmillan’s achievements over the past 100 years. But first here’s a little bit about Macmillan, what our centenary means and the ways in which you can get involved to improve the lives of people living with cancer … Improving lives for 100 years In 1911, a few days before his father’s death from cancer, Douglas Macmillan received a £10 birthday gift which he made the first donation towards the ‘cancer scourge’. Our first 100 years In 1911, Douglas Macmillan founded the Society for the Prevention and Relief of Cancer. In 1989, Macmillan published its very first directory – Help is There. In 2009, our vital services reached over 1 million people living with cancer in the UK … We’ve had many great successes over the past 100 years – successes we should all feel very proud of. Our numerous achievements were only possible because of the dedication of our Macmillan professionals, volunteers and staff. And with your continued commitment, we know we’ll go on to achieve even greater things, reaching more people and improving more lives far into the future. Celebrating our centenary 2011 is more than just our centenary. It’ll be a year of carefully themed activities that celebrate how far we’ve come, the difference we’ve made and what the future holds. It’s also the perfect opportunity to raise more money and increase awareness of who we are, what we do and how we can help. Today, Douglas’s legacy lives on. Macmillan is still a source of support for people living with cancer and a major force for improving cancer care. But although we have an income of £122 million, we’re still not reaching everybody living with cancer. And in the future our services will be more vital than ever. We estimate that in the next twenty years the number of people living with cancer will double to 4 million, and many of those will live longer with their cancers than ever before. Our job of being there for everybody at every stage of their cancer journey will be harder than ever. We’ll need to increase the number of Macmillan specialist nurses and our other professionals. After all, they’re the ones who do so much for so many, offering high-quality support and information to ensure that no one living with cancer goes without the help they need. We’ll also need to expand our wide range of services. For example, our role in providing community services will have to grow so that we can support more people in their homes and communities once they’ve finished treatment. As the demand for our services grows, we’ll also have more roles for volunteers, helping people get their lives back together. And we won’t be forgetting about our benefits advice services, telephone helpline and Macmillan grants which are so vital in providing the emotional and financial support that people desperately need. We’re passionate about reaching and improving the lives of everyone living with cancer. But – and this is the important bit – we simply can’t do what we do without your help. Remember: a little effort + lots of people = many lives improved. How will you celebrate our centenary?
Our centenary is more than just a birthday. It’s a chance for you to go the extra mile, make your fundraisers bigger and better, get more people involved, spread the word about our vital work and – of course – raise lots of cash for people affected by cancer. You could hold a special one-off centenary event. You could add some centenary sparkles to your regular events. Or – and this is the easiest option – you could simply carry on doing all the wonderful things you usually do for us. So, how will you celebrate 100 years of Macmillan? Get quizzical. Do lunch. Sell, sell, sell … Whatever you do to raise money, how about doing it for our centenary? You could hold a special event or even give an existing fundraiser a centenary feel … anything goes. 100 years. 25 fundraising ideas With the help of our wonderful volunteers and staff, we’ve come up with a few ideas to help you get started. Please let your local fundraising team know of any centenary activities you’re planning for 2011. Devise your own brilliant ideas or feel free to pick and choose what suits you and your committee. 1 Hold a balloon race and release 100 green balloons for Macmillan. 2 Hold a centenary-themed auction or raffle with 100 prizes to be won. 3 Walk this way – go round a big landmark 100 times. 4 The centenary challenge – Set yourself a sponsored challenge based on the number 100. You could walk 100 miles or see what you can do in 100 minutes … the possibilities are endless. 5 Talk about a good idea! Offer to speak at local groups and associations about the 100-year history of Macmillan. Don’t forget to ask for a donation for your fundraising group. 6 Test your enterprising skills and see if you can turn £10 into £100. 7 Ask your local flower arrangers’ club to help organise a Macmillan centenary flower festival. 8 Have a centenary garden party. Ask your guests to make a donation to plant 100 bulbs or flowers. Now that’s what we call a blooming marvellous idea. 9 The great centenary sale. Get creative and make 100 items to sell. Home-baked cakes, preserves and crafts always go down a treat. Or how about an antiques or second-hand sale, with goodies that were produced over the past century? 10 The quiz of the century. Hold a centenary-themed quiz night with questions on events, music, celebs and politics over the past 100 years. If you have any cracking quiz night questions you’d like to share, please send them in to your local fundraising team. 11 Be a hero add a zero – raise £1,000 in 2011. 12 Start the 100 challenge – get your friends, local businesses and family to each raise 100 squid for Macmillan. Imagine how many people you could get involved. 13 Be an exhibitionist. Host a centenary-themed art show. 100% of sales could go to Macmillan. Or see if you can get artists to donate their own centenary pictures, sculptures or designs to celebrate this special date. 14 Be quids in. Ask 100 people to donate £1 to Macmillan. Get them to ask another 100 people to follow their shining example. And the chain goes on … 15 Make 2011’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning really count by giving it a special centenary theme. You could invite 100 guests, bake centenary-themed cakes or aim to exceed the amount you raised last year by £100. 16 Organise a Christmas carol concert. Ask 100 local school children to be sponsored to sing – and bring some harmony to people’s lives. 17 Hold a centenary supper or lunch, giving your guests a menu of information about the difference we’ve made to people’s lives over the past 100 years. 18 100 is the magic number – Set a target for an event based on 100. It could be to raise £100, £1,000 or – if you’re feeling super confident – £100,000. 19 Network, network, network. Get 100 people to introduce one person to the committee or fundraising group. You never know who you might meet. 20 Help more people to click with us. Sign up 100 of your friends to Macmillan’s online campaigns network – macmillan.org.uk/campaigns 21 It’s fete – If you have a stall at your local fete, why not give it a centenary feel with Macmillan’s special anniversary merchandise? 22 Do the 100 challenge – Put in 100 hours of fundraising. Ask 100 volunteers to donate 100 hours for our centenary. Raise 100p in a street collection. Get together a flash mob with 100 people in a location doing one thing such as wearing our fetching green wigs … 23 Go back in time – dress up in a costume from 100 years ago and get your friends to sponsor you for your fashion faux-pas. 24 Challenge 100 companies to raise £1,000 each. It’s a sure fire way to raise oodles of cash. 25 Recruit 100 ramblers for your local Macmillan walk. How we’re celebrating our first 100 years Some sort of intro saying there will be lots of stuff happening but it’s early in the day, so here are just a few examples? The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning 2011 The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning 2011 is the perfect chance to spread the word about our anniversary. That’s why we’ll be giving our recruitment and fundraising pack materials a centenary feel. This will help to remind everyone how important it is to join in the celebrations and help raise vital funds for people affected by cancer. Our centenary will also be a great opportunity to make your Coffee Morning event extra special. So, why not get people to raise £100 more, or ask 100 of their friends to attend their event? Last but not least, our centenary will be the perfect time to say thank you to our loyal supporters, in particular those who have supported us for the 21 years of The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’s history. November – Gala extravaganza We have big plans for our big anniversary year. As part of our celebrations, David Ian – Theatre Producer of shows such as Grease and a keen supporter of Macmillan – will be producing a one-night Gala extravaganza at the London Palladium. Taking place on Sunday 27 November 2011, it will be a star-studded evening of entertainment, featuring a whole host of fabulous acts ranging from excerpts from West End shows, comedians and sing-alongs to all-round entertainers such as John Barrowman. There really will be something for everyone. Accompanying the acts will be video clips outlining and celebrating Macmillan’s vital work across the UK. And after the show, there will be a party/dinner at a prestigious venue – watch this space for more details. Our Gala extravaganza promises to be an event fit for a king. So, naturally, we have invited members of the Royal Family including our patron, Prince Charles. Autumn – 100 miles, 100 reasons Chris McCarthy, our brave communications coordinator, plans to go the extra mile – or 100 miles – to celebrate our centenary. He will be running 100 miles over two days, with 100 people affected by cancer joining him at various points on the route. The plan is to have five people join Chris every five miles. The event will take place in and around London – we’ll confirm all the specific details soon. The big idea behind the event is that the supporters running with Chris will help him through the challenge, reflecting the way Macmillan has supported them or someone they know.
Celebrating our first 100 years
