By Rachel BartlettBundy
The village is full of golden sunflowers! This year there are some serious whoppers to kick start Hassocks Goes Gold for 2022! We will reveal the winners of the Sunflower Growing Competition in the October edition… but in the meantime there is so much GOLD coming this month!
The new ribbon pin badges are in lots of the shops on the high street – four brand new designs to choose from or collect the set! The gorgeous posters and gold decoration ribbons are on sale in QD Stationery at the same low £1 cost, so we hope to fill as many windows in the village with gold as possible! As ever, all money raised by HassocksGoesGold goes directly to the CCLG to raise funds and awareness of Childhood Cancer. The Children’s Cancer & Leukaemia Group are the experts in childhood cancer: funding research, coordinating medical science and supporting parents and children for the last 45 years. Thanks to the work they and others have done, over 80% of children diagnosed now with cancer can be cured. BUT… ‘cured’ only means survival for 5 years after diagnosis. There are 76 different childhood cancers, some with very poor outlooks, and some treatments have long-lasting and devastating side effects. Recurrence is too common. Further research is vital to improve real survival rates and to find kinder treatments.
I know all this from firsthand experience. Until my daughter Pearl was diagnosed in 2016, a month before her 10th birthday, I thought childhood cancer was impossibly rare and curable when found. The smiling faces of bald children in adverts for cancer charities who focus over 98.6% of their money on cures for adult cancers belies the truth. Treatments are savage and crude. Children’s growing bodies are fundamentally different and need specially designed treatments, but very few of these exist. Only six treatment drugs have ever been specifically designed for children’s cancer against the more than 200 designed for adults. The cards are dreadfully stacked against children diagnosed with cancer, it now does not surprise me that it is in fact the biggest killer of children under the age of 14. ‘Well,’ I hear you ask, ‘that’s very sad and dreadful, but what can we do?’ ANSWER: We can have a month of joyous, glittery GOLD FUN and raise some pennies along the way! Times are tough and we need some uplifting.
Let's STALL Childhood Cancer
Trail of stalls around Hassocks - Sunday 11th September 2022
Money is tight, but anything you can give will be put to maximum use. Some events are free to enjoy. Can you spot all 117 Giant Gold Bows around the village? Or visit the Parklands Road Art Gallery of Gold Bees. Grab a bargain at the trail of stalls ‘Let’s STALL Childhood Cancer’ at the Hassocks Tyre forecourt and around the village on Sunday 11th September; or on the daily Facebook Auctions throughout September; get lucky at the Gold Tombola at the village market on Saturday 24th Sept; or see out the month in style at The Golden Gala on Friday 30th September when teams of eight compete in a Golden Pub Quiz, with a Pudding Auction, live music and raffle.
The fun even extends into October with Reflex@42 holding a ‘24-hr hair-athon’ from noon on 30th Sept to noon 1st October (ring 01273 845009 to book). The Hassocks Field Society’s Coffee Morning is at Adastra Hall on the 1st October too.
Please join the HassocksGoesGold group on Facebook for information on all the above or email Rachel at hassocksgoesgold@gmail.com. Offers of auction prizes are very welcome! Make donations via JustGiving: www.bit.ly/HGG-22 The CCLG is a registered charity in England and Wales (1182637) and Scotland (SC049948).