Local Work Is Raising Much-Needed Funds For Breast Cancer Now

03/04/2017     General

 

A ‘Pocketful of Dreams’ the work of a textile artist living locally is to be auctioned at Gildings in Market Harborough on Tuesday 11th April 2017 in aid of Breast Cancer Now, the UK’s largest breast cancer charity dedicated to funding research into this devastating disease.

 

The work was part of a national fundraising campaign in the late 1990s for Breakthrough Breast Cancer which saw the creation of three large hangings containing people’s dreams for the future within multi-coloured pockets. Contributors were asked to send Breakthrough a donation, together with their dream and a piece of fabric. The dream and fabric (and in some cases ready-made pockets) were then sent to Barbara who put together the piece. Donations came from as far away as Australia, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Holland from people of all walks of life including contributions from Norma Major, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Diana Moran, Sian Lloyd, Anna Walker, Gloria Hunniford, Caryn Franklin and Wendy Richard.

From the sale of this wonderful piece of work Barbara’s family are hoping to raise as much money as possible towards Breast Cancer Now’s life-saving research. This will be the last chance for Barbara’s work to raise funds for the charity that was so close to her heart and for which she raised so much money over nearly a decade. She now receives full-time care for dementia and this saddens all that know her, as she has lost all the skills she had that she loved so much.

The auction is to be held on Tuesday 11th April 2017 and bids can be placed in person, via telephone or online.

Denise Cowling, Vintage and textile specialist from Gildings, is really looking forward to the auction of such a unique piece of embroidery at their Vintage Collectables & Antiques Sale and hopes to raise lots of money for this very worthy cause. Every 10 minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and sadly every 45 minutes a woman dies from the disease. Gildings are very happy to be supporting Barbara’s family in the sale of her hangings for Breast Cancer Now because the charity believes if we all act now, by 2050; we can stop women dying from breast cancer.

Barbara, who was herself diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 1991, just weeks after the birth of her first grandchild, went on to raise funds for Breakthrough for many years using her love of embroidery. Through this fundraising work she found a focus, something to drive her forward an outlet for her undoubted creative talents. She wanted to help other people and to give them a chance to survive what was becoming a more and more common cause of death in women. She wanted to use her creativity in whatever way she could to help others.

Lorna Thomas, a Community Engagement Officer at Breast Cancer Now, said: “We wish Gildings and Barbara’s family every success for their auction of a ‘Pocketful of Dreams’ and hope that many people come out in force to support the sale”.

“Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, one in eight women will face it in their lifetime – around 1,000 women will die from breast cancer this month in the UK alone. We’re determined to put a stop to this, but we’ll only reach that point by acting now – which is why we need the tremendous support of people like Barbara”.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. One in eight women will face it, and nearly 700,000 people living in the UK today have experienced a diagnosis. More women than ever are getting the disease, and it is predicted that 185,000 lives will be lost to breast cancer by 2030.

Breast Cancer Now is bringing together all those affected by the disease to improve the way breast cancer is prevented, detected and treated in order to stop the disease and move from a time when people fear breast cancer to a generation where everybody lives.

For more information contact Gildings Auctioneers, via email: sales@gildings.co.uk via their website: www.gildings.co.uk or by telephone 01858 410414.

To donate money to Breast Cancer Now visit: http://breastcancernow.org/get-involved/donate

To find out more about the cutting-edge research at Breast Cancer Now visit: www.breastcancernow.org