Passengers eating, drinking and flying into Heathrow Airport in August will be helping to fight pancreatic cancer, with food and beverage retailers across terminals, and air traffic controller NATS uniting forces to contribute to medical research at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust(RFL).
The Royal Free Charity, which raises money for research and patient care at the RFL’s three hospitals, will collect funds for the hospital’s research into pancreatic cancer, including finding new methods of diagnostic testing and the creation of an artificial pancreas using stem cells. Pancreatic cancer is currently the most underfunded, and has the lowest survival rates of all cancers in the UK.
Among the retailers generously donating to the cause are Leon, which will donate 10 pence of each sale of a salad specially created for the fundraiser, Pret A Manger, which will donate 10p for every soup purchased, Fortnum & Mason which will donate £1 for each transaction it makes in the month of August, and The Restaurant Group, including Giraffe, which will donate 1p for each transaction. In a special twist, Air Traffic Controller NATS have committed to donating 10p for each flight that lands 1 minute late or more in August and 1p for those that land on time.
Passengers will also be offered the opportunity to add an additional contribution of their own to their bills at certain retailers, via 500 collection boxes throughout the terminals and through a Just Giving page for the event.
Heathrow’s fundraising drive was organised by Calvin Cummings, operations manager at Heathrow Airport, after his wife Becky was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital’s hepato pancreatic biliary unit in the Sheila Sherlock Liver Centre with an extremely rare form of pancreatic cancer.
Calvin said: “With August set to be Heathrow’s busiest month this year and so many of our retailers willing to participate, there is a real opportunity for our passengers to make a real difference to pancreatic cancer research. I have seen first-hand the dedication and care of the Royal Free Hospital’s staff, and I know this is a very worthy cause that will impact the lives of a lot of people.
“I have always been proud to work at Heathrow, but am more so today with so many of our partners stepping up and finding generous ways to contribute.”
Diane Ryan, fundraising manager at the Royal Free Charity, said: “Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of all the cancers and is one of our priority areas for support.
“Our aim is to make sure that together we are able to fund research projects that will improve outcomes for patients diagnosed with this disease. Pancreatic cancer research is severely underfunded compared to other cancers, but researchers and patients need that funding so that bespoke tests and treatments can be developed.
“One reason pancreatic cancer is so difficult to treat is that it rarely causes symptoms in its early stages, and so is rarely detected until it is fairly advanced. So we are funding research into diagnostic tests that could enable earlier diagnoses by GPs.
“The generosity and support of Heathrow staff and passengers in helping us fund research is a real opportunity to change lives and boost survival prospects in the future.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
To donate to this fundraiser via Just Giving and to learn about Becky’s story, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/HeathrowAirport/
Full list of retailers taking part in the fundraising drive:
Terminal 2
Retailer | Activity |
Boots | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
Café Nero | Optional passenger donation of 1p per transaction |
Cappuccino | Optional passenger donation of 1p per transaction |
Casual Dining Group: La Salle | Company donation of 10 p for each burger purchased |
Eat | Company donation of 10 p per purchase of soup |
Fat Duck’s “Perfectionists’ Café” in Terminal 2 | Company donation of 5p per transaction |
JD Wetherspoon’s “Flying Chariot” | Optional passenger donation of 1p per transaction |
Leon’s | Company donation of 10p for every special edition salad sold |
WHSmith | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
The Restaurant Group’s Wondertree | Company donation of 1p per transaction |
Terminal 3
Retailer | Activity |
Boots | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
Café Nero | Optional passenger donation of 1p per transaction |
Casual Dining Group: | Company donation of 10p for each burger purchased |
Caviar House | Optional passenger donation of £1 per transaction |
Geronimo 3 bells pub | Company will donate 10 p per purchase of any specials conducted in any Geronimo Bars |
Eat | Company donations 10 p per purchase of soup conducted |
Pret a Manger | Company will donate 10 p per purchase of soup conducted |
Leon’s | Company donation of 10p for every special edition salad sold |
Rhubarb | Optional passenger donation of 10p per transaction |
The Restaurant Group’s Bridge Bar | Company donation of 1p for each transaction |
WHSmith | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
Terminal 4
Retailer | Activity |
Boots | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
Café Nero | Optional passenger donation of 1p per transaction |
Casual Dining Group’s Café Rouge | Company donation of 10p for each burger purchased |
Caviar House | Optional passenger donation of £1 pound per transaction |
Delaware’s Dining Street | Optional passenger donation on bill of 25p, this will then be matched by Deleware with an another 25p |
Eat | Company donates 10p per purchase of soup conducted |
Pret A Manger | Company will donate 10p per purchase of soup conducted |
The Restaurant Group: Bridge Bar Apostrophe Comptoir | Company 1p donation per transaction per unit |
WHSmith | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
Terminal 5
Retailer | Activity |
Boots | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
Café Nero | Optional passenger donation of 1p per transaction |
Carluccio’s | £500 donation |
Casual Dining Group: | Company donation of 10p for each burger purchased |
Caviar House | Optional passenger donation of £1 per transaction |
Eat | Company donation of 10p per purchase of soup conducted |
Fortnum & Mason | Company donation of £1 per transaction |
Geronimo’s 5 Tuns Pub | Company donation of 10 p per purchase of any specials conducted in any Geronimo Bars |
Gordon Ramsey’s “Plane Food” | Optional passenger donation of £1 per transaction |
JDW Wetherspoon’s “Crown Rivers Pub”
| Optional passenger donation of 1p per transaction |
Pilot Bar | Optional passenger donation of 10p per transaction |
Pret A Manger | Company will donate 10 p per purchase of soup conducted |
The Restaurant Group’s Giraffe | Company donation of 1p for each transaction |
Wagamama | Company donation of 1p per transaction |
WHSmith | Passengers can donate via collection boxes |
About the trust
The Royal Free began as a pioneering organisation and continues to play a leading role in the care of patients. Its mission is to provide world class expertise and local care. In the 21st century, the Royal Free London continues to lead improvements in healthcare.
The trust provides services to 1.6 million patients at more than 30 sites in north London and Hertfordshire.
The Royal Free London is one of the UK’s leading teaching and research trusts attracts patients from across the country and beyond to its specialist services in liver, kidney and bone marrow transplantation, haemophilia, renal, HIV, infectious diseases, plastic surgery, immunology, vascular surgery, cardiology, amyloidosis and scleroderma and we are a member of the academic health science partnership UCLPartners.
Its affiliated university, UCL, is ranked top in the UK and fifth in the world for research, which has continued to be a priority for the trust.
About the Royal Free Charity
The Royal Free Charity at The Royal Free London exists to support, above and beyond, the NHS provisions for staff and patients. We provide the ‘Little Touches and Big Differences’.
Last year the Royal Free Charity’s income was £15million which enabled us to provide additional services such as volunteer services, including dementia support companions and complementary therapy massage for cancer and renal units as well as funding research and the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation.
Royal Free Charity funding enables pioneering equipment to be purchased and research to take place developing cutting edge treatments, earlier diagnosis methods and advanced treatments for the future.
Sheila Sherlock Liver Centre
In March 2008, the liver treatment service at the Royal Free Hospital was re-named the Sheila Sherlock Liver Centre, in honour of one of the country’s female medical pioneers and founder of the unit.
Sheila Sherlock was the world’s leading authority on liver disease and Britain’s first female professor of medicine. In a glittering sixty-year career she became one of the most famous names in clinical science.
She was elected FRS, Fellow of the Royal Society; a rare honour for a clinician. She was considered by many to be the ‘mother of hepatology’ and really changed the way doctors viewed liver disease, and its diagnosis and treatment.
The Institute of Immunity and Transplantation
The Institute of Immunity, Infection and Transplantation, a partnership development between the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and University College London (UCL), sees world-leading research and clinical trials being brought together in a purpose-designed centre at the Royal Free Hospital.
The research taking place concentrates on developing vaccinations, gene therapy and cell therapy to target cancer, chronic infections (such as HIV, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis), auto-immune diseases (including diabetes, scleroderma and inflammatory bowel disease) and rare diseases such as immunodeficiency, haemophilia and amyloidosis, as well as new types of transplantation.
Since it opened in 2013 the institute has seen advances in immunodeficiency and breakthroughs in the understanding of type 1 diabetes.
Work is due to begin on the new £42 million Pears Building, which will become home to the institute as well as the Royal Free Charity, which steered the project along with the trust and UCL. The charity launched the funding appeal for the new building in 2013 and has since received £35 million in confirmed pledges, including a £5 million donation from the Pears Foundation.
