Picture shows, Chairman Christine Piper (Seated), with from left Treasurer John Piper, Julie Selway Holly Brown and Sue Loosley

 The Somerset Breakthrough Group celebrate 12years of voluntary fundraising for Breakthrough Breast Cancer

The Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer Group would like to say a very BIG Thank you to ALL those supporters across Somerset who have supported them for the last 12 years. They have not only helped to raise funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the UK’s leading charity and “Somerset women” Campaign, but also promoted breast cancer awareness, helping to mover closer to ‘a future free from the fear of breast cancer’

It all started in 1996 after seeing Sir Ranulph Fiennes on breakfast TV talking about his attempt to complete the first solo crossing of Antarctica on foot and longest unsupported polar journey ever made and to raise funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer to establish the UK’s first specialist Breast Cancer Research Centre, my first thoughts were fantastic, I would like to support that, at the time I ran a Explorers group at my local church the children thought it was a great idea so I contacted Sir Ranulph and told we were going to follow his Attempt and we also held fundraising events including selling balloons and launching them from our church.

In February 1997 John & I met with Alison from Breakthrough and setup the Somerset Action Group and Supporters (SAGS for short!).  We changed our group’s name in 2000.

Our fundraising has been varied but mostly unusual  from Tug of War with reporters from HTV (as it was) taking part, to Wicked Women Evenings,  one of our best events was Twist on the Beach at Burnham on Sea which saw us break the record set in Florida USA and got the Charity into the Guinness Book of Records another fun event was pulling Humphrey the Camel around the streets of Bath with people stopping to stare in disbelief!

Arranging for local schools to come along to Burnham on Sea Rugby Club to take part in passing around the 1999 Rugby World Cup Relay Message Ball which was then presented to Breakthrough’s Patron HRH The Prince of Wales at the then Cardiff Arms Park.

Breakthrough’s “Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer” Campaign saw John & I getting signatures from the people of Taunton which were then together with thousands of others handed in to 10 Downing Street.

I am also proud to say that our group received Commendations in the Support & Help group Awards given by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Breast Cancer in 1999&2000 and Christine was awarded in 2001. In 2002 Christine was voted Woman of Courage Award from Miele and Bristol Evening Post after recovering from breast cancer for the second time 

John & I did a photo shoot for The Sun newspaper and Sue Loosley did the same with The Daily Mail, both these papers were covering stories about women who have had breast cancer

These are just a few of the events we have done over the last twelve years, but for now here’s to another twelve.