Cure Leukaemia £1 Million Appeal Centre and 3 Tours Launch event at KPMG in Birmingham.

The £3.2 million expansion project began in May after the GBSLEP granted over £2 million to the expansion and, at a launch event held at KPMG’s Birmingham office, Cure Leukaemia announced its commitment to raising the additional £1 million required. Once completed, the Centre will double its capacity for blood cancer patients, ground-breaking clinical trials and specialist research nurse positions. Not only will the Centre immediately help save more lives, it will also hasten global progress towards eradicating blood cancer within 25 years.

The Mayor attended the Appeal’s launch in January and also when work started on the project earlier this summer and is excited to be taking part for such a fantastic cause. He said: “The work pioneering work Cure Leukaemia supports, led by Professor Charlie Craddock CBE is not only benefitting patients across our great region but also globally. The expanded centre will save more lives and firmly enhance the West Midland’s status on the world’s stage and we are determined to raise as many funds as possible to help this transformational project become a reality.

“I look forward to seeing the public out in force on October 15th and our team are determined to come out on top in the Arcadis Business Challenge!”

The Arcadis Business Challenge invites teams from companies across the Midlands to compete for fastest-time trophies and all-important bragging rights. The four fastest times by participants are added up for each team to pick the overall winners, which means the smallest teams can take on the giants of the corporate world.

Central to Cure Leukaemia’s appeal are the patients around the region who are battling the disease right now and four patients from areas represented by the ‘Mayor’s Movers’; Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Dudley and Coventry are set to inspire the WMCA team forward.

Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, 31, who was diagnosed with Acute Leukaemia in July said: “Since I was diagnosed and have been receiving treatment the support I have had from the people of Wolverhampton and the whole footballing community has been incredible and I am immensely grateful. Knowing there are people out there running, cycling and holding events to raise vital funds and awareness for the work of Cure Leukaemia is really inspiring and I’d like to wish Richard White from the Wolverhampton Authority and the whole Mayor’s Movers team the very best of luck this October.”

The Director of Public Health in Dudley, Deborah Harkins, 49, who celebrated one year since her stem cell transplant to combat Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in the summer said: “I would like to wish my colleague Sarah Norman and the whole Mayor’s Movers team the very best of luck this October. Without the Centre for Clinical Haematology, Cure Leukaemia and the ground-breaking clinical trial I have had access to, I probably wouldn’t be here now.

“As a result, I am fully supporting Cure Leukaemia’s £1 million Centre Appeal to expand this vital facility and give other patients in my position the opportunity I have been lucky enough to have.”

To make a donation to the Mayor’s Movers you can do so via this link.

To sign up and run the Great Birmingham Run for Cure Leukaemia you can secure free entry by emailing [email protected]