Daredevil mum completes abseil for Blood Cancer Awareness Month
Daredevil mum and social media influencer Sally Hurman completed a 170 metre abseil down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth to help us mark Blood Cancer Awareness Month (September).
Inspiration
Mum-of-three Sally, 49, known to her social media audience by her handle Getting Stuff Done in Heels, regularly uses her platform to inspire her 80,000 followers to register as potential blood stem cell donors.
She has worked with us since early 2018 following her husband, Gavin's, own battle with blood cancer and is passionate in supporting the fight against blood cancer.
Fundraiser of the Year
Initially, Sally set a fundraising target of £1,000, but she surpassed that milestone, generating more than £2,240 in much-needed donations, which brings her total fundraising target to £11,232 since she first started working with us two years ago. Help Sally to raise even more vital funds for us by donating through her JustGiving page.
Sally’s fundraising efforts have not gone unnoticed. She beat an overwhelming number of entries to be shortlisted for a Third Sector Excellence Award 2020 in the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ category with winners to be announced early October.
“My eyes were closed a lot of the time”
Having successfully completed her abseil, Sally said: “I really wanted to do something special to mark Blood Cancer Awareness Month. It’s such an important date for people with blood cancer and for DKMS.
“A few years ago I’d have never considered myself a daredevil, but after seeing firsthand the bravery shown by Gavin and others with blood cancer, finding the guts to abseil the Spinnaker Tower didn’t seem like such a tall order after all.
“If I’m honest I was both terrified and excited at the same time. I don’t recall much of the beautiful harbour because my eyes were closed a lot of the time, but I drew strength from the thousands of blood cancer patients fighting for a second chance of life and completed the abseil. I’m donating all funds to DKMS because they do such important work registering donors.”
How you can help
Anyone aged between 17-55 and in general good health can register as a potential blood stem cell donor you can check your eligibility and sign up today.
If you're not eligible or you're already registered, why not check the other ways to get involved in the fight against blood cancer or help us cover donor registration costs?
It costs £40 to register one potential blood stem cell donor. DKMS relies on monetary donations to help cover this cost. Whilst the NHS is very supportive, it falls to charities like ours to reach out and recruit those potential lifesavers.
Fundraisers like Sally Hurman help DKMS to provide home swab kits to the 2,000 UK patients each year waiting for a match from an unrelated blood stem cell donor. There’s still time to help Sally to raise even more vital funds by donating through her JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sally-hurman.