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Funds will be raised through transactions and additional passenger contributions |
UK. A number of food and drinks retailers at Heathrow Airport are participating in a fundraising drive throughout August to help fight pancreatic cancer.
Money raised will be collected by the Royal Free Charity and contribute to medical research at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, including finding new methods of diagnostic testing and the creation of an artificial pancreas using stem cells.
Among the retailers involved are Leon, which will donate 10p from each sale of a specially created salad; Pret A Manger, which will donate 10p for every soup purchased; Fortnum & Mason, which will donate £1 for each transaction it makes; and The Restaurant Group, including Giraffe, which will donate 1p for every transaction.
Passengers will also be given the opportunity to make an additional contribution to their bills at certain retailers, with 500 collection boxes positioned throughout the airport’s terminals and through a Just Giving page for the event.
Additionally, air navigation services provider NATS will donate 10p for each flight that lands one minute late or more at Heathrow in August, and 1p for those that land on time.
Heathrow Airport Operations Manager Calvin Cummings organised the fundraising drive after his wife Becky was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital’s hepato pancreatic biliary unit with a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
He said: “With August set to be Heathrow’s busiest month this year and so many of our retailers willing to participate, there is a real opportunity for our passengers to make a difference to pancreatic cancer research. I have seen first-hand the dedication and care of the Royal Free Hospital’s staff, and I know this is a very worthy cause that will impact the lives of a lot of people.”
According to the Royal Free Charity, pancreatic cancer is currently the most underfunded, and has the lowest survival rates, of all cancers in the UK.
