The Choice: Russia; The Reality: Fundraising Like Hell

Choices made: Russia. The standard at the clinic, the brilliance of the team, the data and success rates, everything… I was 100% sure that Russia was the correct choice.

Of course, the problem is that this is was that I had to raise €45,000. The bigger problem was that it was Christmas and I had set myself 12th March for my treatment. That gave me three months to raise the money!

I didn't have €45,000. I think I had maybe €17 left over from a trip to Paris some months previously...

Before I talk about how we fundraised for this event, it's worth mentioning that there is a slight difference in fundraising for an event like this than for something like the MS Society or Cancer UK in general. You run at the London Marathon or something similar, you pick a charity and you'll raise a load of money to support the charity. You sell to the people that you gather money from that their generosity is going toward saving multiple lives. Going towards researching new treatments that could save a whole host of people and thus affect a whole host of families.

Fundraising for HSCT for yourself is a whole different kettle of fish. It is almost a very self-serving enterprise. You are raising money solely for yourself so that you, yourself, can survive. It is not for a whole host of other people. It is for you and your family.

Fundraising

Essentially, you are raising £40,000. Now that's a lot of money. The stark reality of people raising money for HSCT is that they are in vastly different positions. Some people might be stuck up in rural Scotland in the middle of nowhere with few connections whilst other people are in the middle of London with connections a-plenty and still others somewhere in between. These things really affect the manner with which people can fundraise.

I am one of the truly lucky ones and I will tell you why.

I have my fingers in an awful lot of pies. I am a teacher who has taught at three different schools. I am an author. I'm a blogger. I'm a public speaker. I am a philosopher. I was a manager of a football team. I was coach of the rugby team. I was involved in this local community, mainly through schooling. Every single child I have taught at school has parents or connections that, together, form a massive network of people. I have many friends and have lived in a number of different places. I have a large extended family....

You get the point.

In reality, I am a very lucky man and I pulled on that luck to the best of my abilities. But don't let that put you off. I'll give you a few hints.