6 minute read
Fundraising, Partnerships and Engagement
ANZUP has been fortunate to maintain a strong level of support, from new and existing donors and supporters, to help us achieve our mission: improve the lives of people affected by bladder, kidney, testicular, penile and prostate cancers through practice-changing multidisciplinary collaborative clinical trials .
Although we have faced challenging times with the pandemic, we have developed and implemented new fundraising strategies, including virtual campaigns and communications to keep raising funds and awareness .
We have received support through participation in community activities, gifts in wills, corporate partnerships, trusts and foundations, appeals, and participation in our fundraising events .
Thank you to ANZUP’s valuable donors and supporters for their continued support of ANZUP’s practice-changing multidisciplinary collaborative clinical trials .
Highlights
Sharing Life-Changing Research Stories
In mid-2021, ANZUP developed its first integrated appeal. The purpose of the appeal was to inform our donors and supporters about our award-winning international clinical trial, ENZAMET . Trial participant Owen Reid shared his experience of prostate cancer and how the ENZAMET clinical trial made a significant difference to his health. The appeal was a great success with not only raising funds but also raising awareness of the work ANZUP is undertaking .
Following on from the appeal, we shared another trial participant Rob Lewis’s prostate cancer story on the ENZA-p clinical trial in our ‘A little below the belt’ magazine and Below the Belt Bulletin .
Our thanks go to Owen and Rob for sharing their stories .
Community Support
Testicular cancer survivor, author and podcaster Joe Bakhmoutski has been a wonderful supporter of ANZUP over the years . Joe’s book, Finding Hope in Times of Uncertainty: A Guide to Thriving in the Challenging World of Today, shares practical ways to tackle uncertainty in your daily life and help you bounce back after a crisis . Joe generously donated $5 from each copy sold to support ANZUP clinical trials .
Joe’s podcast Simplify Cancer invited ANZUP Ambassador, comedian, journalist, and testicular cancer survivor Michael Shafar, for episode ‘Finding the Comedy in Cancer’ . Joe and Michael shared their testicular cancer experiences and how finding humor through life can help get us through difficult times . You can listen to this very entertaining podcast via
https://simplifycancer.com/ep079/
Michael Shafar hosted ANZUP’s Comedy Night, Laugh Your Way in May 2021 . The event launched the Below the Belt #YourWay Challenge, with 65 attendees, at Seed Spaces in Sydney, who generously supported ANZUP with the venue and onsite support .
Michael invited his comic pals (and some of Australia’s best comedians), Suren Jayemanne, Daniel Muggleton, and Sam T to support the event and cause, bringing many laughs with their hilarious one-liners and anecdotes .
Gabs Festival
The Great Australasian Beer Spectapular (GABS) was held with Festivals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during May and June 2021, and they supported ANZUP as one of their official charity partners .
Globally recognised as one of the best beer festivals in the world, GABS is like Disneyland for craft beer enthusiasts of all ages . Not only was there amazing street food, and other beverages including non-alcoholic options, but the event stared Michael Shafar who performed his comedy show during the festival in support of ANZUP .
We also sold (and sold out!) ANZUP and Below the Belt merchandise at the events and received 10% of all raffle sales for the biggest beer prize . Along with ongoing communications raising awareness about ANZUP and below the belt activities via their channels, the GABS Festival also provided a feel-good factor of giving back to cancer research .
Origin Energy Golf Day
Origin Energy organised the Origin Energy Golf Day at Massey Park Golf Club in Concord Sydney in mid-May 2021 .
After 18 holes the team was provided with a presentation about ANZUP, below the belt cancers, why clinical trials are so important and ANZUP’s latest research .
It was great to receive support once again from the team at Origin Energy . Since 2015, Origin Energy staff and the Foundation have donated over $70,000 to ANZUP through their matched giving program and participating in ANZUP’s Below the Belt events . We are extremely grateful for their continued support .
Trusts, Foundations and Philanthropy
ANZUP would like to thank and acknowledge our incredible Supporters, Foundations, and Trusts for their ongoing commitment and support .
Anita Castan and the Nordia Foundation
The Noel Castan Fellowships were generously funded by Anita Castan through The Nordia Foundation . The Noel Castan Fellowship aims to build ANZUP’s research capacity and increase the translation of information collected from our trials, which will contribute to a better understanding of how to optimise patient care .
The Noel Castan Fellowship was awarded to ANZUP members, Dr. Hui-Ming Lin, Senior Research Officer at The Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and Kathryn Schubach, a nurse practitioner with clinical expertise working with urooncology patients .
Hui-Ming Lin’s ‘Bioinformatics’ project is an analysis of the lipidomic and cytokine profiles from ANZUP’s ENZAMET study, which may identify novel biomarkers from the enzalutamide response, and provide new therapeutic targets to overcome enzalutamide resistance to improve the outcome of prostate cancer patients .
Kathryn Schubach’s ‘Quality of Life’ project will develop new questions in trials, using existing data innovatively enhancing and facilitating collaboration and thereby drawing attention and meaning to ‘the patient experience’ and aligning with the mission of ANZUP’s clinical research to improve outcomes .
Alison McKendrick and Family
overcoming limited health and digital literacy in the collection and use of electronic patient-reported outcome assessment of symptoms in people with genitourinary cancer .
The late Alastair McKendrick was a treasured member of ANZUP’s Consumer Advisory Panel . ANZUP is very grateful for the ongoing support of the McKendrick family .
Roy Morgan Research
Roy Morgan Research has provided significant funding to the ENZA-p: A randomised phase II trial using PSMA as a therapeutic agent and prognostic indicator in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with enzalutamide clinical trial . ANZUP is very grateful for their ongoing support .
ANZUP is extremely grateful to the Hillcrest Foundation and to the Ken and Asle Chilton Trust for their support to fund important translational research as part of ANZUP’s kidney cancer UNISoN Trial .
With their support, ANZUP will be able to look further into the tumour tissue samples and blood tests from the people who were on the UNISoN kidney cancer clinical trial .
The outcome is to learn if we can predict which people are most likely to benefit from the single treatment or combined treatment, providing a more targeted approach to treatment for people with kidney cancer . This will enable a clearer treatment path, which we hope will reduce uncertainty and anxiety . This funding was enabled through The Hillcrest Foundation.
Friends of ANZUP
Friends of ANZUP is a community connecting people whose lives have been affected by prostate, kidney, bladder, penile and testicular cancers . Friends of ANZUP aims to provide the community with information and the benefits of clinical trials and how to access them, ANZUP’s research portfolio, practical information, stories, and articles through e-news and ANZUP’s ‘A little below the belt’ magazine, invitations to ANZUP’s Community Engagement Forum, and regular updates from ANZUP’s clinical community .
Throughout 2021 the Friends of ANZUP community has grown to nearly 600 and we continue to expand the community, with individuals, families, and carers that we hope to educate and inform about clinical trials and assist ANZUP in raising awareness of the benefits of clinical trials research and ultimately help us continue to fight cancer below the belt.
