Fundraise for Oscar

**UPDATE August 2013:  Sadly, just 4 months after being given the all clear, Oscar has relapsed and he must fight this deadly cancer all over again.  He will undergo chemotherapy in Belfast for the forseeable future to try and clear as much of the disease as possible.  If he responds well, we will then sit down and look at all available options.  In the UK there are relatively few treatment options for relapsed neuroblastoma, and the chances of a cure are very small.  This is why so many families fundraise for treatment abroad (usually in the USA or Germany) where there are much more advanced treatments available offering much greater chances of survival.  We are very fortunate to have approx £350,000 remaining in Oscar's appeal fund which should hopefully be enough to cover any overseas treatment that he might have.  The generosity of people during our first fundraising drive last year was incredible.  That said, any further money raised for Oscar's appeal will be held in his name and will either go towards Oscar's future treatment costs abroad (if any) or towards helping other little kids like Oscar fight this horrible cancer.  Thank you.

**UPDATE: As of May 2013 we as a family have ceased active fundraising, however some people are very kindly continuing to raise money in his name.  Over £600,000 has been raised and after Philadelphia treatment costs are taken out there remains approx £350,000 in Oscar's fund with the Neuroblastoma Childrens Cancer Alliance UK.  This will be required should Oscar suffer relapse and require treatment abroad. People may of course continue to fundraise for Oscar's appeal, which will either go towards further treatment for Oscar, or will go to some other child or children in a similar position.  Oscar has been given the all clear and we really hope that is the end of his brave battle with neuroblastoma.  Thank you for your amazing support!!! :-)

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There are many, many ways in which you can fundraise for Oscar's appeal. Some people have already organised pub quizzes, discos, cycles, runs, car washes, bag packing events at shopping centres etc. A farmer from Co Tyrone even auctioned a sheep!! Others have simply placed collection boxes or buckets in their workplaces or local shops with a few posters to help promote the appeal, or obtained permission to collect at certain events. Every event is worthwhile as every pound raised takes us closer to our target! Below are some things which might help if you want to fundraise for Oscar...

Collection boxes/buckets

A great way to raise money is by using collection boxes and buckets. You will need to obtain permission from a business owner or event organiser before turning up with collection boxes, but it is worth doing as these can raise a lot of money, particularly at places with many people eg supermarkets, shopping centres, pubs, clubs, in the street (council/police permission required). You might also want to ask local businesses if they would happily place collection boxes on their counters/at tills etc?

To request collection boxes/buckets contact the Neuroblastoma Alliance UK on 020 7284 0800.

Seeking prizes for events/raffles

If you are planning an event which requires prizes (eg a pub quiz or raffle), why not approach some local businesses and see if they can help. You will be surprised what some people are willing to donate to help a good cause. As well as the feel good factor from helping out, it is usually good publicity for the business too. If you would like an official Neuroblastoma Alliance ‘approach letter’ to help with seeking donations please contact the charity on the number above.

Oscar Knox Appeal T-shirts

We have a limited supply of t-shirts available which we like to use on events to help promote the appeal and identify you as a member of #TeamOscar! Unfortunately we cant supply these for free as they cost us approx £8 per t-shirt to produce. If you would like to make your own t-shirts, we do it as follows: The t-shirt is a cheap Gildan Iris blue t-shirt costing around £3 each. The NCCAUK logo on the breast can be found easily by Google search (Google Images). Our t-shirt printer trims around the logo leaving a 2-3mm white border around it. This looks much better than just printing a big white rectangular block. All text on the t-shirts is bright yellow. The @Wee_Oscar (Oscar’s Twitter name) font is Dom Casual and ‘The Oscar Knox Appeal’ underneath is Kristen ITC. Both are approx 10 inches in width. On the back of the shirt we print the twitter hashtag #TeamOscar and underneath the web address for the JustGiving page ‘JustGiving.com/OscarAppeal’. Both Dom Casual again.

Sponsor Forms

If you require any sponsor forms for an event please contact the charity on the number above.

Set up your own JustGiving web page for your event

Collecting money via sponsor forms is great, but for maximum reach you should also consider setting up a JustGiving page for your event. This is very simple to do and it means people can sponsor you online from anywhere in the world, and the funds go straight to Oscar’s Appeal. You can email the link to all your friends & family or post it on Facebook/Twitter etc. To do this click the following link: (copy & paste to the web address bit above)

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising-page/creation/get-started?pcid=e0a9558a-040b-4b5c-b227-4ef587e65b16&utm_source=EventLinking


For more information or ideas...
For more great information download the fundraising toolkit from the Neuroblastoma Alliance website...

http://www.childrenscancer.org.uk/fundraise/fundraising-toolkit.php

Or talk to Nikki- our NCCAUK Fundraising Officer. Nikki is very helpful and is full of ideas given her experience in this role. Give her a call during office hours on 020 7284 0800 if you want to discuss/develop an idea. She will be very happy to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and even bigger thanks if you are helping to fundraise for our little hero!!! :-)