October 2008 Archives

Hi Everyone,

Liam

For anyone who was unable to view Adrian's memorial service, or wishes to do so again the Examiner has made a video of the service which you can see below

http://www.examiner.co.uk/videos-pics/videos/2008/10/16/adrian-sudbury-memorial-service-86081-22053609/

PEOPLE from across the world will be able watch a special memorial service for Examiner journalist Adrian Sudbury tomorrow.

The service, at Sheffield's historic cathedral, will be broadcast live on www.examiner.co.uk with help from the BBC.

It is a response to public feeling and the sheer number of people Adrian, 27, inspired.

It's believed this is the first time in the UK a newspaper has been able to provide such a broadcast.

The service, which starts at 2pm, will celebrate the life of Adrian who died on August 20 after an 18-month fight with leukaemia.

He dedicated his final months to his Sign Up For Sudders campaign to raise awareness about bone marrow donation.

It also called on the Government to provide better education about bone marrow donation in schools and colleges - especially to 17- and 18-year-olds.

The Government has written to every UK school and college, asking them to use an online Give And Let Live teaching resource.

The memorial service will be attended by people who supported Sign Up For Sudders, as well as Adrian's friends, family and colleagues.

Also expected to attend are readers of Adrian's award-winning online diary, Baldy's Blog, where he chronicled the ups and downs of living with leukaemia.

The service will feature a pre-prepared message from Adrian himself, video tributes from the media and colleagues, speeches from his family, friends and Colne Valley MP Kali Mountford, who helped with Adrian's campaign.

Sheffield-born star Sean Bean will also be at the event, reading an extract from the poem On Death by Khalil Gibran.

The Hollywood actor met Adrian when they were supporting a fundraising appeal at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

l Anyone who would like to attend the service should email rsvpadrian@trinitymirror.com or call 01484 437707 and leave a message.

For directions to the cathedral, visit www.sheffield-cathedral.co.uk

Yesterday, Keith went to Westminster for a meeting with Ed Balls ( Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families ), representatives of the Anthony Nolan Trust and Kali Mountford MP who tirelessly supported Adrian in his campaigning efforts.

He wanted to thank Ed Balls and Alan Johnson ( Secretary of State for Health ) for writing to schools on a joint basis and for updating the Live and Let Live campaign to include materials suitable for the 17 and 18 age groups.

This is an excellent start. But it is just the start and there is more yet to do.

Let's face it. Some heads may ignore the letter completely. Others will have welcomed the material and have in place the mechanism to deliver Adrian's very important message. There will be others who want to run the Sudders Seminar but may not have the resources to do so. It is the latter group where we intend to focus initially and that is where you, the amazing Adrian's Army volunteers will be able to help.

The government have been asked to provide initial funding so that volunteers can be properly trained to go into schools and colleges to give the all important 40 minute talk. This is so that crucial funds do not have to be diverted away from the vital work carried out by the Anthony Nolan Trust. The aim is to provide a punchy, emotive and informative video including footage of Adie, sufficient training to allow volunteers to speak with accuracy and in depth about the procedures and to answer follow up questions and a simple explanatory leaflet about " What to do next ". We should have their response in 3 weeks or so.

The project will be piloted in 4 different parts of the country to begin with so that the materials and their impact can be evaluated properly and then the aim is to roll out the volunteer programme across the country as soon as possible.

Keith left London in optimistic mood. We will let you know as soon as we have the answer. Meanwhile, remember that there is a link on the Anthony Nolan Trust website where people can sign up as volunteers and there is also a questionnaire to complete that will help to determine the wheres and whens of the training programme.

It is a pity that there is no element of compulsion attached to that part of the National Curriculum that can force headteachers to carry out Adrian's dying wish. We could spend years lobbying to change the statutory basis of senior education or we can take a leaf out of Adie's book and get stuck in to providing a simple solution to quite a difficult problem in a straightforward and pragmatic way.

Have a look at the Examiner website for news of the live broadcast of the Memorial Service tomorrow. It's a fantastic tribute to Adrian that his special service will be shown on the very site he loves so much.

The spam is a bit troublesome I am afraid. Beyond my skills but Liam will be rooting it out soon.

Love to all
Kay

Just reprinting this thank you message from Olie D'Albertanson who ran the London Half Marathon in honour of Adrian and to raise money for Leukaemia Research

Big thank you to everyone who had sponsored me/us to do the London Half marathon. We all got round yesterday despite their being a monsoon battering London. The start was delayed by 45 minutes which meant that ten thousand people were kept standing in the freezing cold wind and rain before we set off but once it got underway we finished the
13 miles in 2 hours 15 minutes.

Everyone is really pleased to have done this, and I am sure AD was laughing at us all the way around.

Hi Guys, Liam here

Just a quick post for you. Those of you who signed up at the Anthony Nolan website for the Sign Up for Sudders Campaign should have received the following email. For any who haven't, please see below. As you know Kay and Keith are keen to explore ways in which Adrian's Army volunteers can be trained up to provide a ready made, deliverable, exciting and emotional lesson that Headteachers can call upon if they require extra input. Completing this survey is a good start to this, if you have any thoughts about the survey please get in touch and get involved

Dear all,

Many thanks for registering your interest in Adrian Sudbury's 'Sign up for Sudders' campaign.

If you are interested in becoming a school speaker, please could you take a few moments to fill in our online survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ViTFv_2fC1XI7re7PEGSOVvg_3d_3d

Your feedback will help us structure our schools programme effectively.

Following the Government's announcement to send revised 'Give & Let Live' packs to all schools and colleges, we are currently working on a volunteer programme to support this initiative and help deliver the message to students. We are planning to organise a series of training events for potential school speakers over the coming months to give you an opportunity to find out more about the Charity and our volunteer schools programme.

We will be sending out updates about the campaign, and recent developments will also be posted on Adrian's facebook site.

Many thanks for taking the time to fill in this survey - your support is greatly valued.

Adrian's army marches on

An update for you.

This week all Head Teachers and College Principals have been sent a letter promoting the 'Give and Let Live' campaign which teaches pupils about the importance of blood, bone marrow and organ donation. The on-line pack has been updated to include extension materials for use with 17 and 18 year old students. The significance of this step cannot be underestimated. Both Alan Johnson ( Secretary of State for Health) and Ed Balls ( Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families ) were signatories to the letter which is the first time that two government ministers have joined forces to back an initiative in this way.

This is a real example of the Sudders effect in full flight and Keith and I want to pay tribute to Mr Johnson and Mr Balls for the speed with which their respective departments responded to Adrian's campaign and Downing Street petition. More than that, it is a model of joined up thinking and action which has to be celebrated and praised. Keith and I are indebted to the wonderful response at the highest possible level.

Now for the trickier bit. How do we ensure that Adrian's mission is fulfilled? How do we ensure that his desire to inform young adults about these important matters actually occurs when there is no power to compel Head Teachers or Principals to teach the subject?

Keith and I met Alan Johnson a couple of weeks ago and Ed Balls telephoned us on Monday. We are arranging a meeting with both Secretaries of State together with Adrian's MP Kali Mountford and the Anthony Nolan Trust to talk about the next phase. When Adie came up with his " simple solution to quite a difficult problem " he was under the impression that the National Curriclum would take care of things. He later came to appreciate that it was going to be more complicated than that and we are keen to protect the precious resources of the Anthony Nolan Trust which has to be primarily devoted to donor recruitment, register maintenance, finding matches and pushing the boundaries of scientific research. We are keen to explore ways in which Adrian's Army volunteers can be trained up to provide a ready made, deliverable, exciting and emotional lesson that Headteachers can call upon if they require extra input.

As soon as we have had this meeting we will inform you of the outcome but, for those of you with close school connections we would welcome your observations.

We were at Sheffield Cathedral planning Adie's Memorial Service yesterday. It is not easy to park in Sheffield city centre. Having parked miles away and walked we realised our ticket would run out sooner than expected and on our return despatched the Rev Fiona in full vicar regalia to "sort out" the car park attendant - it's amazing to witness the effect of a pretty face combined with a dog collar and dangly earrings !

I recommend the excellent city tram from Meadowhall which stops right outside the Cathedral

The service will be absolutely beautiful. It will all be fabulous but one of the readings alone will make you glad you came. I shall say no more than that at this stage but we are in a " be there or be square " situation..........

Best wishes Kay and Keith