PRESS RELEASE
Date: Thursday 12thAugust 2021
Oxfordshire family's fundraising efforts smash £40K goal thanks to football match in aid of rare cancer charity!
Thanks to funds raised by one Oxfordshire family at a charity football match held in memory of popular former Wallingford player-manager, Charlie Allum, over £40,000 has been raised forAMMF, the UK's only cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) charity.
Held in the grounds of Cholsey Recreation Ground in Cholsey, Oxfordshire, on Saturday 7thAugust, more than 100 people, including 55 players, attended the 10thAnniversary Charlie Allum Memorial event, in better-than-expected weather conditions, to remember popular local player-manager, father of three, and grandfather of nine, Charlie Allum.
Following his diagnosis with the rare and devastating liver cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, in 2009, Charlie sadly lost his cancer battle in June 2011, aged just 55. Since his passing, members of the Allum family, most notably Charlie's sons, Chris and Andy, and daughter, Nicky, have worked relentlessly to raise awareness and funding for AMMF, with activities including the popular annual Charlie Allum Memorial Day, a charity Weight Loss Challenge, two London Marathons and three half marathons!
As Charlie's son and event organiser Chris explains, "It was a fantastic day, but my personal highlight was just seeing so many people out and about, talking about football, and sharing news and stories. This is what we have all missed so much in these past 18 months, and the Charlie Allum Memorial Game/Day is a wonderful way of bringing so many people together."
Whilst the day unfortunately ended in disappointing defeat for Chris's team, his brother Andy's team - managed by Ronnie Williams, who used to play football with Charlie Allum - retained the trophy.
The man of the match was Tim Holtom, who stole the show when he capped a fine display in centre of midfield with a perfectly placed header for the final goal.
MP makes unexpected visit to show support!
Chris adds, "People dropped by, including David Johnston OBE and Member of Parliament for Wantage and Didcot, which was incredibly touching. He heard how the annual Memorial Day is an important way for us as a family to remember an amazing husband, father, grandfather, friend and much-loved member of the local community, so we were pleased he was able to come along and show his support in person. We have now raised over £40,000 for AMMF and the figure keeps on rising, so we look forward to planning an even bigger, better event in 2022!"
Helen Morement, CEO of AMMF comments, "We are extremely grateful to Chris and the entire Allum family for having organised such a special and memorable annual summer event, which drew the support of so many, including David Johnston MP. The Allum family have not only raised an amazing amount for the charity, thanks to their efforts over the past decade, but they have also shone a much needed-light on a little-known and devastating disease. The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) appears to be increasing across all age groups, including younger people, so 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. "
Ends
Notes to Editor:
Contact: Esther Porta at AMMF on +44 (0) 20 7351 7374 or +44 (0)7870 439 158 Email:esther@ammf.org.uk
AboutAMMF
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.In 2017, cholangiocarcinoma was the cause of death of 2,523 people in England alone1.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:https://www.ammf.org.uk/ (registered charity no 1091915).
1Genus T, et al. Poster presentation at EASL ILC 2020; Poster THU-508