LEEK United has donated thousands of pounds to the UK’s biggest blood cancer charity for the second year running.

Bloodwise* has been presented with a cheque for £5,000 – the proceeds from the Society’s 2017 Charity Golf Day and 12 months of staff ‘dress down Fridays’.

Staff began raising money for Bloodwise in 2016, in memory of a former colleague who died following a courageous battle with leukaemia, and have continued to do so.

Emma Jane Jones, Bloodwise’s Midlands Regional Manager, said: “We are incredibly grateful to all the staff at Leek United for their support and raising this huge amount of money. They have done some fantastic fundraising and have helped us to raise the profile of blood cancer in the local area.

“Blood cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer and the third biggest cancer killer in the UK. We do not receive any government funding, so it is only with the kind support of people like the staff at Leek United that we are able to continue to fund our life-saving research.”

The Society has to date raised more than £11,000 for Bloodwise.

This year’s total was presented to Emma at Leek United’s Head Office by Operations Director, John Kelly.

John said: “Bloodwise is a cause close to the hearts of a great many of our staff, and we are delighted to have supported this great cause.” 

About Bloodwise:

Formed in 1960, changed its name from Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research in

September 2015. Its life-saving work is focused on stopping people from dying of blood cancer, improving the quality of life for patients and their families, and where possible, stopping people getting blood cancer in the first place.

The charity’s research is targeted at understanding more about blood cancer, finding causes, improving diagnosis and treatments, and running groundbreaking clinical trials for patients.

Around 38,000 people of all ages, from children to adults, are diagnosed with blood cancers and related disorders every year in the UK. It is a complex disease area made up of 137 individual diseases. Some affect thousands of people, such as common forms of leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma; others affect only a handful. But together, blood cancers are the fifth most common form of cancer.

Known as ‘the friendlier face of finance’, Leek United is the 17th largest building society in the UK, based on assets of £928 million at December 2016

The Society operates 12 branches across Cheshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire, and two agencies in Derbyshire and Staffordshire