Students pack bags to help Crocus Cancer appeal

In return for a £1 donation, 30 Bradford University students, from sports clubs and societies, manned checkouts at Asda Cemetery Road and Asda Keighley to add to our £1 million fundraising bid.

Sam Butterworth, sports and societies officer University of Bradford Union of Students, recruited volunteers.

He said: “There was a whole range of volunteers from different parts of the campus, it’s not just one cohort, it’s different parts really getting behind the appeal.”

Money raised will be used to help buy a new mass spectrometer for the University’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, which will allow scientists to study the role of proteins in cancer ten times faster than ever before.

The appeal is being run in conjunction with the University, the Yorkshire Cancer Research charity and the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust.

The new hi-tech machine will hopefully help the department develop new, less toxic cancer treatments to help sufferers around the world. A spokesman for the Cemetery Road store said up to 15 volunteers were bag-packing on Saturday.

She said: “It’s been well supported. Whenever we do allow members of the public to come in and collect for charity, they always have a really good response. It’s nice to know the people of Bradford will support worthy causes.”

Mr Butterworth said: “It’s great to raise funds, but educating people about what the appeal is about is important at this time because it’s still in its infancy.”

The volunteers donned purple T&A Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal T-shirts to support the campaign as part of their Raising and Giving (RAG) week.

The amount raised has not yet been counted.

The supermarket chain will also support the T&A Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal with a fair at the Asda Cemetery Road store, run with help from Asda Keighley, on Saturday, May 31.

To support the appeal, e-mail crocus @brad.ac.uk or call (01274) 233166.