Jennifer Bain KC

FACBA Vice-chair Jennifer Bain KC said: “We are keen to help charities wherever we can as they face the unrelenting pressure brought on by the current cost of living increases. Our donations this year will go towards life-saving research by Blood Cancer UK, as well as support the invaluable humanitarian services offered by Scottish Refugee Council to children displaced from their homes in Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict with Russia. We hope that these donations can help, even in some small way, to alleviate the burden currently being faced by those supported by these two worthy organisations.”

Blood Cancer UK received a £1,500 donation from FACBA. It funds research into all blood cancers and provides information and support services to blood cancer patients. While survival rates are increasing, blood cancer is still the third biggest cancer killer and the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

Matthew White, director of fundraising at Blood Cancer UK, said: “None of our work is possible without the generosity of others and the support of our community. We’ve come a long way in our fight against blood cancer and we are confident we can beat it within a generation. But we can’t do it alone. It is thanks to the support of individuals, communities, and institutions like FACBA that we can continue to fund vital research in blood cancer, as well as support those in the community who desperately need it. For all the progress we’ve made over the last 60 years, too many people are still dying of blood cancer.”
 
Scottish Refugee Council, a registered charity that provides advice and services to asylum seekers and refugees, received a £500 donation. Its chief executive, Sabir Zazai, said: “The war against Ukraine reminds us how quickly and devastatingly all of our lives can change. Overnight, millions of people were forced to flee their homes to avoid the conflict.

“At Scottish Refugee Council, we reacted rapidly and with compassion. Since Russia’s invasion, we’ve personally welcomed more than 1,200 people arriving at Glasgow Airport from Ukraine, making sure they were safe and had essential information and contacts from their first moments in Scotland. Our helpline has advised more than 3,000 callers and we’ve run advice sessions for a further 1,300 people from Ukraine. We’ve delivered this work alongside our continued, busy, advice and support services for people fleeing human rights abuses and conflicts in other parts of the world. We’re hugely grateful for FACBA’s support for our work.”