Annual Strawberry Sparkle ladies’ luncheon raises £3,300 for GEM Appeal charity

Date published: 31 August 2023

The annual glamourous Strawberry Sparkle ladies’ luncheon in honour of the GEM Appeal charity has raised over £3,300 this year.

Over 100 ladies donned their posh frocks and fascinators for an afternoon of food, great fundraising and one or two glasses of fizz at Rochdale Golf Club on 23 August.

Entertainment was provided by singer James Cockerill, who was joined on stage by Tricia Penrose for a duet of ‘You To Me Are Everything’ before an impromptu performance of ‘Son of a Preacher Man.’

Fundraising continued with the raffle, hosted by actors Jason Done and Chris Hargreaves, assisted by GEM Appeal committee members Pete Johnson, Garry Whitworth and David Howles.

A total of £3,367.60 was raised throughout the day for the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Genetics Trust, on behalf of the GEM Appeal.

The GEM Appeal was founded by Rochdale mum Karen Johnson in 1994 in a race against time, when her two sons, Simon and Mikey, were diagnosed with Hunter Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. After deteriorating both mentally and physically, the boys sadly lost their fights for life.

Money raised by the GEM Appeal built a Research and Treatment Unit at Pendlebury Children’s Hospital and the laboratory was named after Karen’s sons. The unit moved to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and over £3.5 million has been raised by the GEM Appeal so far.

Karen, who is chair of the charity, 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 does not mean a death sentence, as it did for Simon and Mikey.

The purchase of medical equipment has been a vital part of pioneering research, to develop treatments for many rare genetic conditions, reducing symptoms, prevent further complications and giving better quality of life.

Treatments 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. 

Money raised by GEM Appeal supporters has recently bought a Tecan machine for Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. This significant piece of equipment, which cost £120,000 is now up and running.

The equipment bought is helping pioneering research, developing enzyme replacement therapies, or performing routine, but essential jobs, enabling the specialist medical teams to concentrate on more complex tasks.

The GEM Appeal is currently funding research to identify ways to improve and perfect these treatments for even better outcomes. This is being carried out at The Willink Unit, using the tandem mass spectrometer machine which was also bought with money raised by the Gem Appeal supporters.

Wendy Mills, of the GEM Appeal, said: “The senior bio-scientist at the Willink Unit, which was built by money raised by the GEM Appeal, has told us that it is an exciting time for developments in genetics.

“We have been part of this journey and we want to continue to be with them every step of the way.  

“The medical team at the hospital is optimistic about the future and is striving for more rare genetic diseases to be included in the newborn screening programme heel prick test. 

“There is still a long way to go to find cures for these genetic disorders, but the GEM Appeal charity will do all it can to help get there.

“We just love what we do and we just want to make a difference. If only Simon and Mikey were still here now.”

All photos with kind permission from David Howles.

The GEM Appeal’s next fundraiser events:

• Fizz Fashion Show - 7pm, Monday 2 October at Rochdale Golf Club. Tickets £5.
• ‘A Night at The Moulin Rouge’ Charity Ball - actress and Loose Women presenter, Denise Welch, who is patron of the GEM Appeal, hosts her annual themed charity ball. Saturday 18 November at The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel Manchester.  Tickets £100. Sponsorship packages available.
• Festive Afternoon Tea - 1pm, Saturday 2 December at Mercure Norton Grange, Castleton. Tickets £22.

Full details on website www.gemappeal.org.uk or contact Karen (gemappeal@gmail.com) or Garry Whitworth (garry.whitworth@ntlworld.com;  07972 381 887 or 01706 523257)