Welcome to the fundraising page for Epic 3 Denmark!

Waving goodbye to the past years pandemic, it is finally time to saddle up again! We are delighted to say that Edrington employees from around EMEA will be taking part in a 250km charity cycle through Denmark starting in Copenhagen on 1st and 2nd September 2022 to raise funds for Giving More International. Giving More International is a Scottish charity set up by Edrington to support employee fundraising. Donations made to Giving More International will, after being double matched, be donated to staff nominated charities Hellebro (Denmark) and Beatson Cancer Charity (Scotland). This final amount being split equally between the two charities.

If our employees raise the £30,000 target this means that the charities will receive £90,000

Everyone is excited and has been on their bikes preparing for the challenge it wont be easy, but as a team we cant wait to push ourselves hard and have fun raising funds for these great causes!

We have provided some information about each of the charities below as you will see, both charities do amazing work to help people in times of need - we would love to raise as much as possible to help them flourish and continue to provide their invaluable work. With this in mind, we have set ourselves an ambitious fundraising target of £30,000 - this will be double matched to £90,000 by Edrington and split 50/50 between the two charities. So please dig deep, all donations will be very much appreciated, however big or small!

The private charity association Hellebro aims to help young homeless and vulnerable between 18-29 years in a joint effort consisting of:

- A meeting place that weekly serves about 120 young homeless and vulnerable people with free care, community, food, bath, washing, health clinic, workshop, music room, internet cafe, etc.

- Hostel that houses 31 young people in a dormitory-like living space with single rooms and shared kitchen and bathrooms.

- Displacement housing used after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine for 24 Ukrainian refugees

- Socio-economic enterprise; an office hotel where young people can work and earn money.

VISION

It goes without saying that life is difficult without a home. Hellebro's mission is to help young people in housing, school and jobs - away from the streets, abuse, crime and the traditional drop-in centers and hostels.

Hellebro was founded in April 2015 and has since January 2019 been housed in the property at Mosedalvej 15 in Valby.

For three years, Beatson Cancer Charity has been funding a pilot service aiming to improve quality of life for cancer survivors by taking a holistic approach to tackle the late effects of pelvic radiation. The team provide comprehensive care for patients experiencing chronic symptoms after completion of their cancer treatment (minimum of 6 months post treatment, though some patients attend after many years of being cancer free), focusing mainly on those affecting the bowel, but also considering the impact on the urinary system and reproductive organs. These symptoms can be embarrassing, anti-social and painful, which is incredibly upsetting and distressing.

For each individual the service investigates possible treatable causes of the symptoms and starts appropriate treatment to address them if applicable. If no treatable cause can be found the aim is then to help patients manage the impact of symptoms on their daily life, thus improving their quality of life and enabling them to feel empowered and educated about their ongoing health.

The service runs two days per week in the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. One day per week is applied to telephone consultations, reviews, administration, liaison with other specialties, and educational work, with the second day dedicated to face-to-face clinic appointments.

The service initially focused on women who had received treatment for gynaecological cancers as that was identified as the area of greatest need. The service has now expanded to include people treated for colorectal cancers and men treated for prostate cancer. Since this expansion there has been a growth in referrals which is expected to continue.

Around 100 patients access the service annually. The service is meeting a previously unmet need, seeing patients some of whom who completed treatment over a decade ago who report their lives have been unbearable and not worth living due to the unpleasant consequences of their treatment. They report that their lives have been transformed following input from the Late Effects Clinic approximately 60% saw a reduction in bowel urgency or leakage following intervention of the service. The same percentage reported an improvement in their quality of life. Patient comments include:

"Huge relief and very helpful to feel someone is interested in me and asked about my symptoms rather than ignoring them because they dont know how to manage them."

"Now I have someone to speak to who can give informed advice I can trust."

" Feel more positive about the future after clinic appointment and supported."

In addition to direct patient intervention, the service continually strives to raise awareness of Pelvic Radiation Disease and Late Effects among oncology colleagues, surgical and gastroenterology colleagues. They have ensured inclusion the service in the University of Glasgow Medical School programme and are members of the Pelvic Radiation Disease Association medical advisory panel.

It costs just over £100,000 to operate the service each year. We are hoping to donate £45,000 which would fully meet the running costs for almost 6 months. Through this, people experiencing severe Late Effects of their radiotherapy will have access to specialist support and interventions to potentially treat and remove these symptoms, or to manage and reduce them, thus greatly improving their quality of life, and giving them the chance to live well, beyond their cancer journey.