PRESS RELEASE

Cancer patients from across the UK and their families are set to benefit from a £150,000 grant made by health charity Walk the Walk to Penny Brohn UK. As we explained in our Emergency Appeal, this is a particularly difficult time for Penny Brohn UK. We ended 2022 with a deficit of just over half a million pounds and we had to reduce spend on core services to just half of what it was at £400,000. With donations from our supporters, including this grant from Walk the Walk, we’re striving to help people across the UK live well with cancer now and for generations to come.

The funds will specifically help us relaunch in-person retreats, wellbeing days and complimentary therapy sessions for people with cancer, at our headquarters at Ham Green, Bristol. These sessions were suspended during the pandemic when we moved our entire programme of support services online.

Andrew Hufford, CEO of Penny Brohn UK says:

“After successfully switching to online-only services during the pandemic, we’ve been trying hard to restart in-person services at our centre in Bristol, so we can offer a truly hybrid service for people with cancer at Penny Brohn UK. Like many small charities, our capacity and finances have made this challenging, so it is incredible to be supported by Walk the Walk with a grant that will allow our in-person services to relaunch later this year. Nina and everyone at Walk the Walk have supported Penny Brohn UK for many years and we are so grateful.”

Sessions funded by Walk the Walk’s grant will include:

• Resilience retreats. Short residential courses, providing uplifting group sessions and personalised one-to-one support for people living with cancer
• Wellbeing days. Offering those living with cancer expert advice on exercise, diet and ways to relieve stress and anxiety
• Complimentary therapies. Sessions including scarwork (a gentle approach to alleviating the physical and emotional impact of scar damage following surgery); acupuncture and counselling

Diane from Birmingham took part in a pilot retreat:

“I was very fortunate to be invited to a fabulous wellbeing retreat at Penny Brohn UK. The retreat provided myself and my husband an opportunity to get away, relax, think, and breathe. We were both able to connect and talk to like-minded people in similar situations without judgement or explanations, who just understood what we had been through and continue to live with. The whole weekend was so relaxed, providing a balance of information, time to think and process and plenty of laughs. We both came away feeling much lighter and more equipped to move forward living with cancer, knowing we have the support of Penny Brohn UK. Words really can’t describe how much the retreat benefitted both myself and my husband.”

Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of breast cancer charity Walk the Walk said:

“The past three years have been incredibly tough for everyone and like many charities offering emotional and physical care, Penny Brohn UK have had to become skilled at offering their services through online and digital means. Indeed, Walk the Walk has previously provided funds to help them achieve this. Whilst digital services now have their place and have enabled Penny Brohn UK to reach so many more cancer patients across the UK, nothing can quite replace the value of face-to-face support. We are just so thrilled to be able to help Penny Brohn UK bring this personal care back into operational service, as it is needed now more than ever. Sign up now for The MoonWalk London 2024 at walkthewalk.org and help us to continue making a difference.”

Entries are now open for The MoonWalk London 2024, organised by Walk the Walk. On Saturday 18th May 2024, thousands of women and men wearing decorated bras will set off from Clapham Common in London to walk an overnight half or full marathon through the streets of the capital. Sign up now at www.walkthewalk.org.