Big C Festive Round Up

December was a busy time at Big C with three separate events being held across the festive season.

On December 3^rd, we held our first Jingle Jangle Fun Run at High Lodge in Thetford. With over 220 participants, the festive fun run was enjoyed by families and friends alike and raised over £4000 to support those affected by cancer locally. Our wonderful event sponsors, Loveday and Partners even had three runners taking part: Josh, Harrison and Daniel. The morning started off with a festive warm up by Amy Goreham, from our Health Academy team, leading onto the 2.5k or 5k fun runs. Following this, families were encouraged to visit the Christmas Market, run by Forestry England, as well as listen to the festive brass band with a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine! A wonderful and festive start to December was had by all!

We held our Remember in December service at St Peter Mancroft Church in Norwich City Centre. The service gave people the chance to celebrate the festive season, as well as remember loved ones who may, sadly, no longer be with us. The church was decorated beautifully with charity Christmas trees as part of St Peter Mancroft’s beautiful Tree Festival. Reverand Naomi Tuma led the service with some incredible performances from Ben Lake and the Stagecoach choir throughout the service. This included an especially emotional rendition of Hallelujah, during which handheld candles were lit in memory of loved ones.

People sitting in church for the Remember in December service

Passages were read by Big C’s ambassadors, Chris Reeve and Amelia Reynolds, as well as Big C’s Chief Executive, Dr Chris Bushby and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Professor Dylan Edwards. St Peter Mancroft’s large main tree was covered with heartfelt messages from people writing in memory of loved ones. The evening was a warm and reflective one with lots of wonderful feedback and we look forward to holding the event once again in 2024.

Finally, we had a wonderful day with the Christmas shoppers in Castle Quarter in Norwich on December 16^th with our Christmas Choirs. A total of six different groups took part; Village Voices, U3A Recorder for Pleasure Group, Rockavox, SqeezEast, Limelight Studios as well as the Norwich Folk Ensemble. Many shoppers who stopped to listen had the opportunity to learn more about the services Big C provide locally whilst also enjoying the festive music. One of the highlights of the day, according to shoppers, was Rockavox’s ‘Turkey Song’, which led to a lot of laughs from the crowd!

We have also had a number of individual fundraisers who chose to raise money for Big C over the festive season. Awayadays toured around Norwich City Centre in their iconic vintage Routemaster again this year, raising a total of £1825 for Big C! As well as this, the annual Larling Boxing Day Tractor Run, consisting of 233 tractors, chose Big C as their charity of the year and raised over £11,000!

Thank you to all of our amazing fundraisers throughout 2023, we are so grateful for your support! If you would like to take part in fundraising for Big C in 2024, please feel free to contact us at fundraising@big-c.co.uk. We would love to hear from you!

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