Trinacria Bedford Association Raises £17,000 for DKMS
Bedford’s Sicilian community have come out in force to support DKMS UK, raising an amazing £17,000 in honour of the remarkable work of the DKMS Bedford Volunteering Hub.
Raising Funds
On Saturday 26 April, the Trinacria Bedford Association organised their annual fundraising ball. DKMS UK were their chosen charity, and the event raised £17,000, which will help us to add hundreds of potential lifesavers to the stem cell donor register.
Bedford Volunteering Hub - Lifesaving impact
The DKMS Bedford Volunteering Hub has organised 80 stem cell registration events in the local community since the group formed 7 years ago, and 3,000 people have joined the stem cell register at these events. In 2024, 5 people who registered through the Bedford hub went on to donate their stem cells, and were able to give blood cancer patients a second chance at life.
The DKMS Bedford Hub was set up in May 2018 as part of the search to find a stem cell match for a local five-year-old leukaemia patient named Kaiya. Sadly, Kaiya passed away in January 2019, but the Bedford hub has continued its mission to find as many potential lifesavers as possible.
A Heartfelt Thank You
Poonam Chand, head of the DKMS Bedford Volunteer Hub, said, “A heartfelt thank you to the Trinacria Committee for their passion, energy, and unwavering commitment in raising £17,000 for DKMS. The volunteer work we do in Bedford truly changes lives — last year alone, five lives were saved through stem cell donations from individuals who signed up at our local drives. Every registration brings hope, and the funds raised will go directly towards processing the cheek swabs we collect.”
In the weeks leading up to the event, Maria Taverna from MGT Fitness Studio, an active member of Bedford’s Sicilian community, organised a sponsored walk in aid of DKMS.
Reflecting on the walk, Poonam said, “From ages 8 to 80, 40 walkers showed up with heart, energy and purpose — a truly inspiring event that reflects everything that makes Bedford so special: its generosity, community, and diversity”.
Ian Corpuz, Volunteering Manager at DKMS UK, said of the event, “The DKMS Bedford Volunteering Hub do incredible, life-changing work in their community. The people of Bedford have been huge supporters of DKMS’ work, and we are so grateful to the Trinacria Bedford Association for their generosity. Every day, people in Bedford and around the country join the stem cell donor register, hoping to give patients a second chance at life, but we rely on fundraising in order to register them, so this event has been a great support in our mission”.
