Andy Street and the ‘Mayor’s Movers’ runnning for Cure Leukaemia
Published: Monday 18 Sep 2017
Fifteen West Midlands Combined Authority colleagues are following the lead of the Mayor Andy Street by running to raise cash for Cure Leukaemia and a life-saving centre in Birmingham.
The Mayor called for runners to join him in 13.1mile Simplyhealth Great Birmingham Run on 15th October having attended the Appeal's launch in January and the start of the expansion project this summer.
His team, drawn from Birmingham, Solihull, Dudley, Wolverhampton and Coventry authorities, and West Midlands Fire Service, are in serious training to raise funds towards Cure Leukaemia's £1m appeal to expand the globally significant Centre for Clinical Haematology at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
WMCA runners the Mayor's Movers - (back row l-r): James Webster, Luke Bodin, Simon Hall, Andy Street, Malcolm Holmes; (front row l-r): Claire Williams, Laura Anderson, Jenni Ainge, Vikki Holland
The £3.2m expansion project began in May following more than £2 million in grant from the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and, at a launch event held at KPMG's Birmingham office, Cure Leukaemia announced its commitment to raising the additional £1m required.
Once completed, the centre will double its capacity for blood cancer patients, ground-breaking clinical trials and specialist research nurse positions.
Not only will the centre immediately help save more lives, it will also accelerate global progress towards eradicating blood cancer within 25 years.
The Arcadis Business Challenge adds an extra dimension to the race, inviting teams from companies across the Midlands to compete for fastest-time trophies and all-important bragging rights.
The four fastest times by participants are added up for each team to pick the overall winners, which means the smallest teams can take on the giants of the corporate world.
"The expanded centre will save more lives and enhance the West Midlands' status on the world stage and we are determined to raise as much as possible to help this transformational project become a reality."
To make a donation to the ‘Mayor's Movers' you can do so via this link: www.justgiving.com/mayors-movers
To sign up and run the Great Birmingham Run for Cure Leukaemia you can secure FREE entry by emailing beinspired@cureleukaemia.co.uk
To sign up for the Arcadis Business Challenge at the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham Run visit www.greatrun.org/business-challenge