2009 News
- News Archive
Battle of the Bands Charity Event Announced
Dr Rob Lake, a lecturer at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, is organising a ‘Battle of the Bands' charity fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
The event will be held in the St Mary’s Students' Union bar on Friday 29th January and will feature live music and raffle prizes.
The evening will feature live music sessions from some of the University College’s student and staff bands and other music acts from the local area. Tickets for raffle prizes will be offered throughout the evening, and tickets for the event itself can be purchased from the Students' Union or from Rob Lake in advance. More tickets will be available on the door the night of the event, and all profits will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the main charity for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in Britain that has as its main objective to fund medical and scientific research aimed towards better understanding, treating and curing CF. They provide a vital lifeline for people living everyday with CF, which is the UK's most common life-threatening inherited disease.
The average life expectancy for someone with CF is just 31 years, and the symptoms of CF are widespread but predominantly affect the lungs and pancreas. A defective gene causes the body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening infections. These thick secretions also obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food. In most cases, the causes of death for people with CF are related to poor lung function and a decreasing vital capacity causing gradual lung degeneration.
Rob Lake suffers from Cystic Fibrosis himself, and has raised almost £12,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust over the past five years. Chiefly, this has been through organised running events, in particular the London, Dublin and Chicago marathons.
Rob said: “I consider myself to be one of the very lucky ones. I can eat what I like; I have a full-time job; I can run around and play sports. I’m 29 years old, and a fit and healthy CF patient, but there are thousands of people in the UK with CF that aren't so lucky. That's why I am raising money for the CF Trust, to help those less fortunate. And what better way to do that than to listen to great live music”.
Dr Lake hopes that local businesses will offer to donate raffle prizes. If you would like to contribute, please contact Rob at laker@smuc.ac.uk or call 07967 442653
