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September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. To show their support, the Freedom Health Insurance team held an office food fundraiser to raise awareness and money for Alice's Arc.
Alice's Arc is a charity focused on rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer that mostly affects children and young people.
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma that grows in the muscles, and its causes are unknown. Alice's Arc raises money for clinical research, to find less invasive and better treatment options and to improve survival rates.
Why we chose Alice's Arc
The charity was chosen by a member of our team with a close connection to it. Her son's friend, Dexter, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma when he was just five years old.
Dexter went through intensive treatment, but sadly the cancer became inoperable. Dexter died in July 2022, aged seven. You can read Dexter's story on the Alice's Arc website.
"We are absolutely delighted that Freedom Health Insurance supported Alice's Arc, having been touched by Dexter's story. The money raised will go towards vital research to understand more about rhabdomyosarcoma as well as creating new treatments and identifying drugs that can help improve survival rates. One day in the future we hope breakthroughs from our research will help diversify treatment options and save the lives of children diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma."
Sara Wakeling, Founder and CEO, Alice's Arc
How much did we raise?
We are proud of the generosity of our team, who raised a total of £179.
The money will go towards clinical research to develop gentler treatments and improve survival rates, and to support families dealing with a diagnosis.
How can you fundraise?
Fundraising helps charities such as Alice's Arc fund research to find and improve treatments. You can donate to Alice's Arc on its website.
For more ways to get involved, Macmillan has easy fundraising ideas you can try.
Our international food theme
The theme of the event was international food. Staff were invited to bring a dish from their own culture, or from another culture they had enjoyed.
It showed the diversity of our team, and gave everyone a chance to try new food and get to know their colleagues.
Best international dish
To encourage more people to take part, we asked staff to vote for their favourite international dish. The winner received a restaurant voucher.
Congratulations to our Finance Assistant, Rahala, who won best international dish.
"I made various dishes that originated from Bangladesh including vegetable samosa's, onion bhaji's, dhal and keema borra (lentil and mince meatballs) and mackerel bites. These dishes are seasoned with traditional South Asian spices alongside other ingredients such as chili, turmeric, and coriander. They are typically prepared and eaten during significant religious festivals such as Ramadhan and Eid and the textures and flavours remind me of my childhood which brings back some wonderful memories. Food is such a large part of my culture and I wanted to share this with my colleagues."
How we limited food waste
Most of our team brought homemade food, so there was a wide choice of sweet and savoury treats. To avoid food waste, we asked people to bring empty containers and take leftovers home to family and friends.
By the end of the day, no food was wasted.
What did we learn?
The international food fundraiser was rewarding and fun. It lifted spirits in the office on a Monday, and helped staff learn more about their colleagues, their cultures and their food.
Most importantly, we raised money and awareness for Alice's Arc.
