‘Blood Cancer UK’ Fundraiser
2313. James Badger
James Badger, from Harrogate, is aiming to raise £300,000 for ‘Blood Cancer UK’, following the death of his wife Philippa who passed away 36 hours after being diagnosed with leukaemia, a form of blood cancer.
Following Philippa’s death at the age of just 42, James dedicated himself to making a difference to those affected by blood cancer, and has since been raising awareness and fundraising for ‘Blood Cancer UK’.
Wanting to do something significant for the first anniversary of Philippa’s death, and inspired by Lord Ian Botham OBE and his awareness raising for childhood leukaemia in the 1980s, James set himself the fundraising challenge of cycling over 1,000 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats in 8 days, raising over £200,000.
This May, he will be cycling the equivalent of the height of Mount Everest through his ‘Ride to the Stars’ challenge, cycling up the Lackon Bank in Birstwith, and beyond, a total of 90 times, passing the school that Philippa was involved in, and the church where she is buried. James is aiming to raise enough money to support the funding of a three-year acute myeloid leukaemia research project at Cardiff University.
Congratulating James on his award, the Rt Hon Julian Smith CBE, James’s local MP for Skipton and Ripon, said:
“I’m delighted that James has been recognised by the Prime Minister for his efforts to raise an extraordinary amount of money for ‘Blood Cancer UK’.
“He and his family have been through the most devastating loss but to see him mark it in this way is simply inspirational and will make a real difference to lives across the country.
“I wish him the very best of luck on his next challenge.”
Helen Rowntree, Chief Executive of ‘Blood Cancer UK’, said:
“James’s fundraising has been nothing short of inspirational, not only for the blood cancer community but for anyone who’s come across his story. After the sudden death of his wife Phillipa, from acute myeloid leukaemia in 2022, James has dedicated himself to raising the profile and funding research into this aggressive form of blood cancer.
“James’s fundraising is supporting the development of more treatment options for acute myeloid leukaemia, improving survival rates. James is giving hope to so many affected by blood cancer, the UK’s fifth most common cancer. On behalf of everyone in the ‘Blood Cancer UK’ community, we send James our congratulations for the award and this hugely well deserved recognition from the Prime Minister.”
James said:
“I’m delighted to be receiving the Points of Light award on behalf of the team effort to raise awareness into blood cancer and funds for research into the disease with the charity ‘Blood Cancer UK’. I hope that in my small way I can make a difference for thousands of sufferers in the future.”
Find out more about ‘James’s fundraising’ and Blood Cancer UK’