PRESS RELEASE

Date: Monday 11 November 2019

Festive Season for Sandbach families begins on 29 November with the annual Rugby Club Christmas Market, featuring the ‘Polar Post'!

Christmas wish lists and letters sent straight from Father Christmas himself feature in the Polar Post -a truly magical annual moment for children at the charity Christmas Market at Sandbach Rugby Club on Friday 29 November.

During the course of the popular festive event, held in aid of AMMF, the UK's only cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) charity, the rugby club becomes home to colourful, twinkling light displays and traditional, artisan stalls selling everything from delicate trinkets to decadent hot drinks and foodie treats. There will be plenty of fun activities for visitors of all ages, including festive music provided by local choirs, children's stalls selling an array of goodies and even bungee trampolines, thanks to support from the rugby club's in-house catering provider and co-organiser, Symphony Hospitality Catering.

However, the highlight of this year's Market is sure to be the popular ‘Polar Post' - Santa's unofficial mail delivery centre, which last year gave more than 100 children the chance to experience the magic of Christmas, thanks to having helped them write and send their Christmas letters to Father Christmas in Lapland!

Little ones can either bring along their wish lists and letters for Santa, or else write their letters at the event. Amongst Santa's helpers will be Andrea Sheardown and Karen Martone.  Both Sandbach residents, Andrea is a cholangiocarcinoma survivor and an active AMMF fundraiser.  Andrea and Karen, experienced mums, will be helping the children add some decorative ‘Christmas sparkle' to their letters - for a small donation to AMMF. 

Commenting about the upcoming event, Andrea says, "The annual Christmas Market is a fantastic way to herald the start of the season and I am delighted to be part of this special day. Children are thrilled at the prospect of writing and posting their letter to Santa and are overjoyed when we give them his written reply. That's the magic of the Polar Post! However, to ensure that no-one goes home empty-handed, we will also hold a raffle for all our visitors, with the chance to win some wonderful Christmas hampers and treats. We want everyone to have a fun and memorable day, regardless of their age."

She continues, "I am so grateful to Sandbach Rugby Club and Symphony Hospitality Catering for holding and organising this popular Christmas Market in aid of AMMF. The charity has played such an important part in my life and my own journey with cholangiocarcinoma. Ultimately, I want everyone, but especially the children, to enjoy this special event which will help support the amazing work being done right now by AMMF. Last year, the Polar Post raised over £500 for the charity, which was wonderful. It would be fantastic if we could have a repeat of that tremendous outcome as every penny we receive will make a difference to the charity's work."

Helen Morement, CEO of AMMF comments, "Andrea is an incredible fundraiser and as a cholangiocarcinoma survivor, her inspirational fundraising efforts, including this wonderful Christmas Market, play a vital part in helping to raise awareness of this neglected cancer, the incidence of which appears to be increasing across all age groups, including younger people. There is an urgent need for research to find the causes of this disease so we can develop better diagnostic tests and more effective treatments."

The Sandbach Christmas Market takes places on Friday 29th November (3pm-8pm) at Sandbach Rugby Union Football Club, Bradwall Road, Sandbach, Cheshire CW11 1RA

Entry to the Christmas market featuring the Polar Post, is free.

Ends

Notes to Editor:

For media inquiries and interviews, please contact: Esther Porta on: +44 (0) 20 7351 7374 or +44 (0)7870 439158 email: esther@ammf.org.uk

About AMMF

AMMF was founded and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission in 2002 (registered charity no 1091915). AMMF is the UK's only cholangiocarcinoma charity, dedicated to tackling this devastating cancer on all fronts: providing information and support, campaigning to raise awareness, and encouraging and supporting research.

In recent years an enormous and extremely worrying worldwide increase in cholangiocarcinoma's incidence has been noted. Latest figures show there were 2,161 deaths caused by cholangiocarcinoma in 2013 in England alone (NCIN/Cancer52 report). The incidence appears to be increasing across all age groups, including younger people, and the cause of this ongoing increase is unknown. Much more research is desperately needed.

AMMF is dedicated to bringing about improvement for the cholangiocarcinoma patient, working closely throughout the UK with patients, families, carers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, researchers, politicians and policy makers, and collaborating internationally. For more information, visit: http://www.ammf.org.uk/ (registered charity no 1091915).

Sandbach Rugby Union Football Club (SRUFC)

For more information about Sandbach Rugby Union Football Club, please click here.

Symphony Hospitality Catering

For more information about Symphony Hospitality Catering, please click here.