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Walk Around the World for Brain Tumo(u)rs and the Inaugural International Brain Tumo(u)r Awareness Week – News Update.
Dear friend of the international brain tumour community,
The countdown to the inaugural International Brain Tumour Awareness Week has begun!
We look forward to hearing more about what you/your organisation is planning for this important week in the international brain tumour community's calendar.
We have been gathering many contributions towards our target of circling the world at the Equator (40,000 kms or 24,901 miles) by adding up the distances covered in fund-raising and awareness-raising walks for brain tumours… Here are a few examples: Jim in Hawaii has collected 2,016 miles from 300 fitness walkers who use the Queen Kapiolani Park for their regular exercise … Racewalkers in Victoria, Australia, contributed 387 kms to the world target and raised $600 for the neuroscience unit at a local hospital … Fifteen walkers in Essex, England, contributed 210 miles in “A Walk for Trina” and raised funds for Brain Tumour UK … 3,200 walkers in Chicago took part in the ABTA Path to Progress walk …
There are walkers ready to tackle the Great Wall of China and the High Arctic in northern Canada …Veronica O’Connor (UK) has donated the 1400 kms she walked from Fatima in Portugal to Lourdes in France via Santiago Compostela in Spain. There have been many other walks – too many to mention in detail in this email but they will all be acknowledged in our final coverage of the World Walk. We are definitely on track to reach our 40,000 kms target.
Specific events to be held during the October Awareness Week of 21-27 October are also emerging: A brain tumour scientific conference will be held in Linz, Austria … On 21 October a picnic for families of brain tumour patients will be held in Adelaide, Australia … On the same day in Sweden there will be a brain tumour awareness walk across a bridge in Goteborg and a walk in Northamptonshire in the UK… In Belgium on 26 October the brain tumour support group Werkgroep Hersentumoren will hold a media conference … The next day in Italy there will be the Irene Onlus run in memory of a former brain tumour patient and also a walk in the Netherlands … We are also anticipating walks during October that are associated with the USA NBTF Angel Adventure Walks and the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada which has its annual Spring Sprint… but any awareness-raising activity during the week is appropriate, it doesn’t have to be a walk …
So far, we have had notifications of support from more than 60 organisations around the world and our main brochure has been printed in 6 languages with a total print run of 22,000 copies … Hundreds of notice board posters have also been distributed.
The Australian racewalker and world 50 kms record holder Nathan Deakes will be competing in the World Athletics Championships at Osaka, Japan, next Saturday (1 September). His photo and words of personal support appear in our main brochure. You can send a message of encouragement to Nathan before his big race by going to: http://www.athletics.com.au/fanzone/2007_world_championships_centre/messages_of_support
Our promotional brochure continues to be widely distributed … The 1200 participants expected at the European Association of Neurological Societies (EANS) conference next month will each receive a copy in their delegates’ bag … The IBTA will have an exhibit stand at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO14) to be held in Barcelona during 24-27 September. We plan to have versions of the brochure available in the Spanish and Catalan languages for the local participants from among the anticipated 12,000 delegates, as well as versions in English, French, Spanish, German and Polish.
Five things you can do:
NOTIFY US of your event so we can list it on the Awareness Week and World Walk website
PROMOTE the World Walk and Awareness Week on your website and in your printed material between now and October.
LINK your website to the IBTA's so that visitors to your site who are interested can easily link to more information about the activities. This is the URL your webmaster should link to: www.theibta.org
DONATE any mileage from sponsored walks to the target for the Walk Around the World - remember we don't want any funds raised, we just want the mileage
GET READY to spread the word about the Awareness Week and Walk through your local newspapers, radio and television stations - we will be preparing a press pack to help you. Our major international media announcement will be based around international statistics of brain tumours that we have commissioned from the CBTRUS.
Good luck!
Denis Strangman (Chair)
International Brain Tumour Alliance – IBTA
www.theibta.org
Kathy Oliver (Secretary)
PO Box 244, Tadworth, Surrey
KT20 5WQ, United Kingdom
Tel:+ (44) + (0) + 1737 813872
Fax: + (44) + (0) +1737 812712
Mob: + (44) + (0) + 777 571 2569
The International Brain Tumour Alliance is a not-for-profit, limited liability company registered in England and Wales, registered number 6031485. Registered office: Roxburghe House, 273-287 Regent Street, London W1B 2AD, United Kingdom. All correspondence should be sent to the Secretary's address above, not to the registered office.