Millions of steps towards a cure for breast cancer

It’s always good to see where your fundraising money goes!

Grant-making breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, organisers of the iconic MoonWalk are delighted to announce a grant of £2.5 million to Breakthrough Breast Cancer and a further £1.2 million to Breast Cancer Campaign.

Most people have heard about The MoonWalk and realise that it raises money and awareness for breast cancer and people walk at night in their bras. Fluffy, fun, a good night out?

It is so much more than a walk in the dark, it is no mean feat ( pardon the pun) with women and men Power Walking either a Full Moon ( 26.2 miles) or Half Moon (13.1 miles) at Midnight! Some completing the marathon in under 6 hours, others taking 13 hours – anybody can do it, no matter their fitness level! Ages range from 13 to 89!

To date, thanks to these amazing people Walk the Walk has raised more than £92 million, with The MoonWalk London alone raising in excess of £68 million.

What makes Walk the Walk very special and unique is that founder Nina Barough CBE and the Trustees grant money to causes where they know it will make the most difference. Because of the magnitude of these grants, the charity really does help make the journey of cancer patients and their families more bearable and helps research charities move closer to finding better diagnoses, developing better treatments and taking bold steps towards finding a cure.

£2.5 million grant to Breakthrough Breast Cancer bringing the total granted to almost £24million
The Walk the Walk “Breast Cancer Treatment Research Fund” is supporting a programme of research across the country at The Breakthrough Toby Robins Research Centre, at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and, for the first time, at Breakthrough’s units at King’s College, London, Dundee and Manchester. The programme of research is working to help Breakthrough better understand the genetics of breast cancer, so that we can help develop new, personalised treatments for hard-to-treat breast cancers, and overcome resistance to current treatments.

Chris Askew, Chief Executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “The funding that we receive from Nina and Walk the Walk has made an enormous contribution to the achievements we’ve made in our research to date. But none of this would have been possible without the determination and dedication of the walkers. So many participants have been affected by breast cancer, and their passion to raise money and commit to such a huge challenge demonstrates clearly just how important our shared mission is. We have every one of these walkers in our minds as we work to understand more about the causes of breast cancer, how we can better treat it, and ultimately save more lives.”

£1.2 million grant to Breast Cancer Campaign
Walk the Walk is a founding partner of the ground-breaking Breast Cancer Campaign Tissue Bank. The Tissue Bank is a unique collaboration with four leading research institutions, to create a vital resource of breast cancer tissue for researchers across the UK and Ireland – the UK’s first ever national cancer tissue bank. In 2014, the Walk the Walk Tissue Access Fund has been created, meaning a Scientific Fellowship and two project grants will be awarded to top scientists, who will use tissue from the bank for their innovative work. The latest grant from Walk the Walk for the Tissue Bank, bringing the total granted to £4.2 million, will help move this pioneering project forward.

Breast Cancer Campaign Chief Executive, Baroness Delyth Morgan said: “We are immensely grateful for the support we have received from Nina and Walk the Walk and the crucial role they have played in helping us establish the Tissue Bank. Many of our staff, Trustees and supporters, including myself, have decorated our bras and taken part in the iconic MoonWalk event. I am proud of the relationship the two organisations have developed, both being incredibly passionate about research and the progress it can make in overcoming breast cancer.”

Nina Barough CBE , Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk said: “Being in the wonderful position of being able to make grants of this scale is really the cherry on the top of the moon! Whilst our challenges always cause great excitement, many people do not appreciate the enormous impact of the grants that we make. Walk the Walk is delighted to be supporting Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Campaign, two charities that are at the forefront of continual developments in research into breast cancer. Whilst we have come a long way in recent years, it is now essential to understand why people get breast cancer and particularly secondary cancers, which is why we feel these grants are so important.”

On Saturday 10th May, 17,000 women and men wearing the charity’s trademark brightly decorated bras will set off from Clapham Common for the 17th MoonWalk London, uniting once again to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. To find out more or register as a volunteer click here

For more details, spokespeople, case studies and photography, contact:-
• Sally Orr at Walk The Walk 07796 080675 [email protected]
• Jennifer McAllister at Walk the Walk 01483 741430 [email protected]