February 21, 2020

The future of Team Margot Foundation is about education

By
Margot, July 2014

Margot, July 2014

Dear Team Margot Supporter

Our family set up Team Margot Foundation three months after Margot died and last month marked five years as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and over six years since we launched Margot’s appeal for her matching stem cell donor. 

It’s a time of reflection and we have tended to use today, the anniversary of Margot’s bone marrow transplant in 2014, as a time to publish information about the work of the Charity.

By all accounts, Margot’s appeal was remarkable. At the time, it was credited as having been the most high profile global donor appeal anywhere in the world, embracing national and international TV, radio, print, online, outdoor media and Virgin America flights; Margot’s appeal was covered by the media in more than a dozen countries. During the first 6 weeks of Margot’s appeal, DKMS UK (previously named Delete Blood Cancer UK) received over 50,000 requests for swab kits in the UK alone, resulting in tens of thousands of people registering as stem cell donors. 

As a direct result, every week since, on average one blood cancer patient has had the chance of a potentially life-saving bone marrow / stem cell transplant.

The Orgamites have a starring role in our "All About Organs" module

The Orgamites have a starring role in our “All About Organs” module

What’s also remarkable is that Team Margot is still campaigning for everyone who is eligible, particularly those of mixed heritage, to register as stem cell and bone marrow donors. 

A short book by the award winning Arabella Greve, aged 15: "My message, from one teenager to another, is that we have the ability to do something amazing."

A short book by the award winning student author, Arabella Greve, aged 15: “It is my greatest wish that this book will provide inspiration to young people to sign up to the stem cell register when they become eligible on their 16th birthday. My message, from one teenager to another, is that we have the ability to do something amazing. Our cells are young and healthy, and at no cost to ourselves, we could save someone’s life – what greater gift as a human being is there?”

And because Margot needed many blood and platelet transfusions to keep her well during treatment and following the tough discussion my wife and I had about donating Margot’s organs, the Charity also promotes the need for more blood donors and organ donors too.

The Charity has primarily sought to encourage more stem cell registrations and the modus operandi has been to try and do less of the ‘on the ground’ registration events (although there were some 60 donor registration events held in the 12 months after Margot died, with many others since) and instead, more of the activity that might drive people online to register in large numbers. 

Screenshot 2020-02-20 at 23.13.23This has included a diverse array of activities, amongst other things: publishing a song and music video with students from Elstree UTC & the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra called “Light The Way” (“an anthem for people with blood cancer“), a national campaign that included media appearances on TV & radio, a national billboard campaign, numerous adverts & media appearances such as appearing on the London Underground and UK railway network and an appearance on London’s world famous Piccadilly Lights. Other events have included a Parliamentary Reception at The House of Commons, a photographic Exhibition at City Hall in London, an expedition across Greenland, Mayors Question Time, three attempts at rowing across the Irish Sea (we made it third time lucky!), a documentary “Finding the Perfect Match” by Stephanie Gabbatt, several appearances at the Great River Race, a ‘Team Margot Ten Miler’ and most recently, the epic Atlantic Row and #WeRowYouRegister campaign.

Such reflection naturally leads on to more practical, current considerations and the trustees have been giving a lot of thought to the relevance of the Charity today and how it might continue to make a meaningful difference into the future. 

Accordingly, going forward, the focus of the Charity will be on education, primarily via the ‘Giving to help others’ platform. This education programme, which has been conceived and developed in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant, is aimed at children of primary school ages and raises awareness of & encourages stem cell donation alongside other forms of donation, such as blood and organs. The Charity seeks to encourage schools, parents and guardians to download the free, teacher approved materials to begin the conversation and learn the facts about donation together with their pupils and children. The aim is to bring about long term culture change, particularly in the communities where the need is greatest, so that increasingly people register and are donors & ultimately for donation to become regarded as the norm, rather than being the exception.

Team Margot Foundation is first and foremost a campaigning charity, however it also has a grant giving function. The trustees are immensely grateful to the many people, schools & organisations for their generous donations and inspirational fundraising that has enabled the Charity to make 186 ‘one-off’ £1,000 grants towards families caring for child cancer patients. These grants are for the recipient families to use in any way they wish & they have come to be regarded as ‘emergency funds’ because the funds are approved and typically arrive within 24 hours, following receipt of the patient’s bank details. 

On behalf of the recipient families, the various hospital networks & social workers who make the approval process so straightforward: thank you.

And as ever, thank YOU for your ongoing support.

Team Margot
Together, saving lives

Screenshot 2020-02-20 at 23.04.17

Husband to Vicki and father to Oscar (2007), Rufus (2008), Digby (2015), Humphrey (2017) & Margot (2012-2014)

Posted in: Journal