As part of Cure Leukaemia’s ongoing partnership with National League Football Club, Solihull Moors, this weekend’s fixture against Oxford City will be dedicated to raising funds for the charity to mark the start of Blood Cancer Awareness Month in September.

The fixture will see the club celebrate the work of the charity which funds the Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP), which is a network of specialist research nurses at 15 blood cancer centres located in the UK’s biggest cities, including here in Birmingham, as they look to raise important funds throughout the month.

The network has been funded by Cure Leukaemia since 2020 and costs over £1million per year to maintain. This network enables accelerated setup and delivery of potentially life-saving blood cancer clinical trials to run, giving patients from a UK catchment area of over 20 million people access to treatments not currently available through standard care.

Cure Leukaemia staff and volunteers will be scattered around the ARMCO Arena hosting a variety of fundraising challenges throughout the day, including a speed gun challenge on the Davisons Law Community 3G pitch, a tombola in the Trevor Stevens Suite and a raffle in the Corporate Hospitality where guests will be able to win a framed, signed shirt from Brazil legend, Pele (complete with certificate of authenticity).

Why not join the nation and take on your own challenge centred around the number “14” to support the charity this September? It can be any activity you like, whether it’s eating 14 sausages, baking 140 cakes or running 1.4km. The possibilities are endless!

You will be happy to know that you do not have to undertake a physical challenge in September. You can make a simple, quick donation via SMS that takes just ten seconds. Simply text BCAM to 70450 to donate £14 to the charity which you can choose to make a one-off donation or an ongoing monthly donation. (Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message.)

Cure Leukaemia Chief Executive James McLaughlin will be taking part in his own challenge across September as he visits all of the newly expanded 15 Trials Acceleration Programme centres, running 14km from each, over 200km and the equivalent of 10 half marathons, in just 10 days.

“Across September, over 400 people will be diagnosed with a form of blood cancer, so this highlights how much work is still needed to be done to help find a cure for this terrible illness. There are so many ways in which you can get involved across the month – whether it be taking part in your own challenge, or hosting a bake sale for your friends, family or work colleagues. The possibilities are endless.”

“With the support of the amazing Solihull Moors fans and the wider community, we can expand our Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) network of Research Nurses, who perform lifesaving work for blood cancer patients across the country.”

The news follows the recent announcement that Cure Leukaemia’s logo will feature on the backs of the playing shirts of Solihull Moors for the 2023/24 season.