Backed by Strictly Come Dancing star ‘Zoe Ball’ (pictured below), Basingstoke’s Women In Business Group pledged their support for the National Cervical Awareness Campaign ‘Be Cervix Savvy‘ – at a Charity Walk in London last month.

The Be Cervix Savvy campaign has been launched to inform women all over the country about cervical cancer and to ensure they ‘get themselves screened’.

Celebrity television and radio presenter, Zoe Ball, says

“An astonishing 3 women in the UK die from cervical cancer every day! There is a brilliant cervical screening programme in place for women aged 25+ and it’s vital that all us lasses are screened regularly. So tell your girlfriends, mums and daughters, to get involved and Be Cervix Savvy!”

An innovative ad shown on the Be Cervix Savvy website, has been created, interviewing a mix of great looking male actors to help get this incredibly important message across!

Cervical cancer is the most preventable form of cancer, yet it is still the second biggest cancer killer of women aged 30-34 years in the UK. Early detection through screening prevents many cases of invasive cervical cancer, but younger women in particular simply do not know what it is or why they should attend a smear test. It is estimated that 40% of women under the age of 35 do not attend a regular smear test.

In 2006/07 a total of 4.01 million women aged 25-64 years were invited for cervical screening in England, but nearly one million women did not attend. (Reference: Cervical Screening Programme: England 2006-2007, The Information Centre)

Basingstoke based Clarke & Son LLP’s chosen charity for 2007/08 was the Samantha Dixon Brain Tumour Trust and the firm raised an impressive £1,090.30 for the Yately based charity.

The solicitors raised the money through a number of in-house fundraising events including staff lunches, Christmas party raffle, skittles evenings, Easter egg mystery prize and a Wednesday Lottery Bonus Ball draw. The firm was grateful for donations from other local companies for their Christmas raffle including Basingstoke Rugby Club, The Red Lion and Halpern PR.

Maria Birchall, Fundraising Manager for Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (SDBTT) says

We were very happy to have been chosen as Clarke & Son’s Charity of the Year. The money raised will go towards much needed research and patient support. It is a sad fact that more children and people under 40 die from a brain tumour than any other cancer. Support from local businesses like Clarke & Son helps SDBTT raise awareness and funds for research.

Next year’s charity is Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, for which the company hope to raise even more cash!

Winterthur staff splashed out to raise money for local charities at the Lions Club of Basingstoke’s 25th annual swimarathon.

The swimarathon took place on Saturday March 8 2008 at Tadley swimming pool. With a total of eight teams taking part from four local companies, the annual swimarathon is one of many charity events run by fundraising organisation The Lions Club of Basingstoke that assists needy people throughout the world. People of all ages and swimming abilities participate, raising as much money as they can.

Three teams represented Winterthur at the swimarathon:

• Soden’s Swimarathon Sharks - Laura Soden, Oliver Harrup, Jeremy Moulton, Derek Somerville, Rachel Welford
• Deadman’s Humpback Whales - Dave Deadman, Linda Owen, Lisa Cornwell, Andrew Baird, Richard Satchwell
• Winterthur’s Electric Eels - Toorban Mandal, Peter Stagg , Diane Stagg, Richard Goswell, Chris Pearce.

Between them, the teams swam a total of 102 lengths, and raised £1335.50 in pledges, which Winterthur have agreed to match, bringing the total raised to £2671, with half the money going towards The Lions Club’s chosen charities, including schools and other worthwhile causes in and around the Basingstoke area.

Barry Morgan, Lions Club president said:

Everyone who participated had a great time, they really went for it and the distance swam was very impressive. We’re very grateful for all the effort put in and the money raised.

The remaining half will be donated to Winterthur’s chosen charity Naomi House, a local children’s hospice outside Winchester. Jill Livingstone, corporate fundraiser for Naomi House, said:

The ongoing support we receive from Winterthur is fantastic. Naomi House relies on the generosity of people in the community to continue its work. This money raised will make a real difference, helping us to provide crucial care services, free of charge, to children and their families at a time when they need it most.

Laura Soden, project coordinator at Winterthur, who organised the teams, said:

I would like to say thank you to all those who participated in the swimarathon this year, we managed to raise an amazing amount of money. This is the second year I have participated in the swim, and it’s a great event, with a fantastic atmosphere on the night.

On Sunday 4th November Julie, trainee Solicitor at Clarke & Son LLP ran the Athens Marathon with her fiance, completing the course in 4.58 hours. This was the original course used during the first modern Olympic games in 1896 as well as the official Olympic course of Athens 2004 when Paula Radcliffe was struck with stomach cramps and sadly had to pull out of the race.

On the event’s 25th anniversary, Julie managed a sprint finish to avoid going over 5 hour mark! Julie said of her challenge,

It was a very hilly and humid course and I can see why the ancient Greek who ran the 26.2 miles to tell of the victory against the Persians died at the end! I was born in Iran so a certain sweetness to someone of Persian connection entering Athens triumphant!

While Julie beat Paula’s 2004 Olympics (non) time thankfully Paula has returned to form and won the New York marathon also on Sunday. Julie and her fiancé have entered the ballot to run the 2008 London marathon and if accepted, they will begin fundraising in December for the Clarke & Son LLP charity of the year The Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust.

Carrauntoohil in County Kerry stands at 1039m (3414 ft) and is the highest point in Ireland. It is also home to the infamous ‘Devil’s Ladder’ – an uncomfortably steep gully that has prompted the most rescue attempts out of any area on the mountain. Undeterred and eager to meet the challenge, a team from Winterthur, based in Basingstoke, completed the epic 12km round journey in just seven hours.

This is the second time that the South West sales team has taken to the slopes for the Hampshire children’s hospice Naomi House; in 2006 they climbed Ben Nevis in Scotland, raising £11,200 for the Winchester-based charity, which relies on donations to maintain its palliative care for children and their families.

The two sponsored events together have generated over £22,000, which goes a long way towards the running of the hospice; it could pay for maintaining the hydrotherapy suite for seven months, running the multi-sensory room for 17 weeks or a respite care bedroom for 41 days.

Second time expedition leader and Winterthur Divisional Sales Manager Jon Haslam said:

The Carrauntoohil experience was even more intense than Ben Nevis, and the team worked incredibly hard. The sense of purpose that comes from supporting a cause such as Naomi House kept us all focused, even across Devil’s Ladder. Everyone involved is feeling extremely proud of themselves, and rightly so. We have already decided on next year’s challenge but we’re keeping that under wraps for now.

Naomi House’s Corporate Fundraiser Jill Livingstone is delighted with the donation:

Everyone at Naomi House would like to say a huge thank you to Jon Haslam and his team for their tremendous efforts. Many thanks also to all who supported them. All members of the team should be justifiably proud of this incredible achievement; both conquering the mountain and raising an amazing amount of money! It is support like this that enables us to provide crucial care services, free of charge, to children and their families at a time when they need it most.