Clarion Housing Group has raised £80,000 for Brain Tumour Research in just one year, in memory of colleague Darel Bryan who tragically passed away in 2016 aged just 34.

Darel, from Beckenham, worked in Clarion’s Bromley office as a Housing Officer after joining Affinity Sutton (which merged with Circle Housing in 2016 to form Clarion Housing Group) in 2008.

Following his death, Darel’s partner, Natalie Overs, and his family set up the Darel Bryan Foundation under the umbrella of national charity Brain Tumour Research, and Clarion made the decision to support the Darel Bryan Foundation with a target of raising £100,000 over three years.

Thanks to the determination of staff and match-funding from the business, 80% of that target has been reached in the first year alone. Over the last 12 months, Clarion colleagues have taken part in a range of fundraising activities such as dress down days, cake sales, raffles, quiz nights and sponsored sporting events – including football tournaments, triathlons and even marathons – raising an impressive £40,000 which has been matched by Clarion, bringing the total to £80,000.

Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group, Ruth Cooke, said: “When we pledged our ongoing support to the Darel Bryan Foundation, raising funds for Brain Tumour Research last year we promised to do everything we could to make it a success – including matching every pound that was raised – so I’m thrilled to be presenting a cheque for 80% of our three-year fundraising target after just one year.

‘I know this money will make a very real difference by funding vital research into brain tumours and contributing towards a lasting legacy for Darel. I’m very much looking forward to continuing to support the Foundation and seeing how much more we can raise!”

Darel’s partner, Natalie, added: “Our partnership with Clarion has been truly overwhelming in its first year and Darel’s family and I have been touched by the incredible support and fundraising. Darel would have been extremely proud to know his legacy lives on and that one day this fundraisinw

It comes after the government announced it will double its funding for brain tumour research – from £20 million to £40 million – following the death of former Labour Cabinet minister Dame Tessa Jowell on 12 May.

Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Brain Tumour Research, Robin Meltzer, commented: “We are very grateful to the Clarion Housing Group for choosing to support our fundraising group set up in memory of their colleague Darel Bryan. This phenomenal amount raised in just one year represents the cost of a month’s worth of research at one of our four Centres of Excellence, bringing us closer to finding more effective treatments and ultimately a cure.”

“Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.”

To make a donation to The Darel Bryan Foundation go to www.justgiving.com/teams/TheDarelBryanFoundation 

For further information, please contact:
Liz Fussey at Brain Tumour Research on 07811 068357 or liz@braintumourresearch.org

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK focused on funding sustainable research to find a cure for brain tumours. We have established a game-changing network of world-class Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. Embracing passionate member charities nationwide, over £6 million was raised towards research and support during 2017.

We are campaigning to see the national spend on research into brain tumours increased to £30 - £35 million a year, in line with breast cancer and leukaemia. The unprecedented success of our 2015 petition led to the 2016 Westminster Hall debate and Brain Tumour Research taking a leading role in the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research with the report published in 2018.

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• They kill more children than leukaemia
• They kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• They kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease
• In the UK 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers
• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone, at any age
• Incidences of, and deaths from, brain tumours are increasing.

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website including our latest Report on National Research Funding. We can also provide case-studies and research expertise for media.