Swab for Sykes campaign heads to Spring Festival

Although one target has already been met, there is still a great deal more that can been done for countless others as the great DKMS team heads for a 'Swab for Sykes' day at the Spring Festival in Blackpool.

The Swab for Sykes Campaign now heads to the Spring Festival in Blackpool

Saturday, 15 April 2017

Although the great news has been announced that the 'Save Stephen' Campaign has reached its £90,000 target (and is still rising towards the £100,000 mark) the 'Swab for Sykes' initiative that hopes to reach out and help even more people through DKMS blood cancer research, is still going strong.

Spring Festival

A team of volunteers from DKMS will be at the British Open Spring Festival at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on Saturday 13th May, hoping to sign up volunteers to provide a swab that can be hopefully lead to a match for someone suffering with the illness.

Organised by well known trombonist Kevin Holdgate, the team will be spending the day at the Winter Gardens fir the 'Swab for Sykes' campaign.

Golden ticket

Kevin told 4BR: "The more people that are tested the more chance there is of finding the 'Golden Ticket' as we have come to refer to it. That could be a perfect match for not only Stephen, but literally thousands of others in the same situation as him.

We are grateful to Frank Hodges and his organising team for allowing us to set up at the Winter Gardens and I look forward to a great day. The campaign is set to continue for as long it takes."

The fund raising campaign to enable the purchase of the potentially life-saving drugs set up at www.gofundme.com for Stephen has already passed its £90,000 target, but as Kevin told 4BR, the work goes on.

We are grateful to Frank Hodges and his organising team for allowing us to set up at the Winter Gardens and I look forward to a great day. The campaign is set to continue for as long it takesKevin Holdgate

Keep supporting

"The brilliant 'Acrobat Challenge' initiated by Jayne Murrill went viral and gave the campaign an amazing boost, and the support of so many people in the musical world, not just with brass bands, has been superb.

There have been contributions and donations from all over the world, so if we can keep this going it can help so many more people. I would urge anyone who has not yet been tested to come and see us at Blackpool, as it takes just 5 minutes of your time to possible give someone a new lifetime."

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