Record amount raised at Strawberry Sparkle fundraiser

Date published: 30 August 2022

This year’s Strawberry Sparkle Ladies Lunch at Rochdale Golf Club has raised a record-breaking £3,878 for the GEM Appeal.

Over 130 guests enjoyed a fabulous summer afternoon of delicious food, great entertainment and a couple of glasses of fizz on Wednesday 24 August.

Raffles and a game of ‘Take Your Pick’, boosted the total amount raised to £3,878, which is a new record for this event.

Singer James Cockerill provided entertainment throughout the afternoon, which also saw special guests actors David Lonsdale (best known for his role as David in Heartbeat) and Jason Done (Merlin and Waterloo Road) assist with the raffle.

Karen Johnson, chairman of The GEM Appeal, says the Strawberry Sparkle is her favourite event.

She gave a heart-rending speech, informing everyone how significant their support and donations are: because of research at The Willink Unit, Manchester Children’s Hospital, a diagnosis of a rare genetic disease, such as Hunter Syndrome, which is the condition which Karen's boys, Simon and Mikey suffered with, does not mean a death sentence, as it did for them.

Because of money raised by The GEM Appeal, pioneering research at The Willink Unit, where the laboratory is named after Simon and Mikey, has resulted in enzyme replacement therapy treatments being developed.

These have been life-changing for many families with children with genetic conditions; reducing symptoms, avoiding further complications, extending life expectancy, and giving better quality of life.

There is still a long way to go to find cures for these genetic disorders. The medical team at the hospital is striving for more rare genetic diseases to be included in the newborn screening programme heel prick test because early diagnosis is crucial to prioritise maximum effective treatments.

Money raised by The GEM Appeal has recently bought a tecan machine for the Willink Unit, which prepares samples for testing, enabling the expert scientists to concentrate on more complex tasks.

The charity’s next fundraising event is a fashion show at Rochdale Golf Club on Monday 3 October. Further details of the charity and future events can be found at www.gemappeal org.