Chai Cancer Care campaign smashes £2.8m target
Community rises to the fundraising challenge with events across schools, nurseries, synagogues and a Chai Kids Family Fun Day
Close to 8,300 donors from across the world have raised over £2.8m for Chai Cancer Care to support the charity’s 68 services and additional demand following the rollout of the NHS BRCA testing for the Jewish community.
The fundraising started with a weekend of events and a matched funding campaign. 10,000 sponsored shopping ‘Bags for Chai’ were distributed to kosher bakeries and grocery stores across the UK. Chai committee events included Young Chai’s ‘Spin for Chai’ and Forever Chai’s ‘90s Quiz night’ in Manchester.
On Friday 1st December, thousands of children from 17 schools and nurseries took part in Chai’s annual ‘Mad Hair Day’ to raise awareness of the ‘Chai in Schools’ programme.
Over 100 synagogues and universities took part in the ‘Chai Shabbat’ and on Sunday morning, the 36-hour matched funding campaign began with a phenomenal £1 million raised by 1pm.
More than 100 children, who have a family member supported by Chai, piled into Chai’s flagship centre in Hendon.
The ‘Chai Kids Family Fun Day’ gave the children a chance to capture happy memories with a photo booth, face painting, jewellery making, cookie decorating, and hair braiding.
On Monday night, Chai Chairman, Louise Hager said: “We are blown away by the response from the whole community. Given the impact of the tragic events on 7th October and the general economic climate, the result was simply remarkable. This is due to the recognition of the vital services Chai provides and the high regard in which Chai is held.
“I want to pay tribute to all our fantastic team hosts, many of whom are clients whose firsthand experiences of Chai’s support touched so many and to our wonderful loyal supporters who continue to champion Chai.
“We do not charge for any of our services and without any statutory funding, this campaign was crucial to us meeting our annual running cost of £3.7m. Our heartfelt thanks to each and every person for their generosity which helps ensure that Chai can continue to be here for everyone who relies on us.”
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