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Mayor of Kirklees
The Mayor's Charity Appeal 2008/2009
The Mayor's Office - May 2008
mayors.office@kirklees.gov.uk
This year the Mayor has chosen two charities to benefit from his Appeal Fund - Dewsbury
and District Hospital Diabetes Centre Appeal and The Laura Crane Trust.
Funds raised by the Mayor's Charity Appeal will be divided equally between the
two chosen charities.
Dewsbury & District Hospital Diabetes Centre Appeal
An appeal is underway, having been launched by the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire,
to provide funds for a Diabetes Centre at Dewsbury & District Hospital. The appeal
has so far raised about £125,000 of its target of £180,000.
Diabetes is now common and its prevalence is rapidly increasing. Plans are needed now
to improve capacity to handle this menace which can cause damage to many parts of the
body and which shortens life expectancy. Diabetes is the commonest cause of kidney
failure and can also cause blindness; it can lead to disease of large arteries causing
heart attacks, strokes, and foot and leg gangrene.
Diabetes care requires a multi-disciplinary approach involving nurses, dieticians,
podiatrists, and doctors of various specialities. Such care is most effectively coordinated
in an area dedicated to the purpose, rather than scattered around the hospital.
In order to provide the Diabetes Centre there will be a complete refurbishment of the
area that was once the outpatient department at Staincliffe General Hospital. Such
a "nerve centre" would provide modern facilities designed for integrated outpatient
diabetes care, a site for education, particularly of those with diabetes and their families,
and a meeting place for the local branch of Diabetes UK.
The Laura Crane Trust
The Laura Crane Trust, a Huddersfield-based youth cancer charity, was registered in October 1996,
five months after Laura lost her horrific 14-month battle against a complex mix of four types of
cancer, aged just 17. Six teenagers in the UK are diagnosed with cancer every day, and the
Huddersfield-based Laura Crane Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to funding research
specifically into cancer amongst teenagers and young adults.
Research undertaken by the Laura Crane Trust is aimed at finding better methods of prevention
and detection, improved treatments, a greater understanding of cancer in this age group and
the saving of more young lives like Laura's.
The Trust also funds measures to improve the frequent stays in hospital for teenage cancer
patients by funding age-appropriate recreational equipment and support staff, who organise
fun activities for them and often become their friend and confidante. These much-needed distractions
help improve the motivation to fight their illnesses.
Harsh regimes of treatment have to be faced, coupled with isolation from school, friends and
family and all that is comforting and familiar. Whilst not long out of childhood, these young people
are old enough to understand the brutal reality of their situation.
Any queries and donations can be made through the Mayor's Office:
Mayor's Office
Town Hall
Ramsden Street
Huddersfield
HD1 2TA
Tel. 01484 221904
Fax. 01484 221906
Email: mayors.office@kirklees.gov.uk
Please make cheques payable to "Mayor's Charity Appeal".
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