Through the good offices of OPCSG member Mike Breakell, on 21 December a well-established group of carollers in and around the Handboroughs, known as the Carol Crawl group, raised £251.87 for OPCSG with what their leader describes as their 'sonorous efforts'.  It's good to know that traditional carol singing is alive and well, and we are most grateful to this group for their efforts on behalf of prostate cancer patients whom we support.

OPCSG member Ian Van Maanen writes: “I am a member of the Abingdon Duplicate Bridge Club which each year organises a special Xmas event with a raffle. The proceeds of the raffle are donated to a charity of the members' choice, and I nominated OPCSG. The cause proved to be very popular, as a result the club collected about £130 for OPCSG.”  Thank you, bridge players.

The recent Mayor of Witney, Cllr Chris Woodward, sent us a cheque for £140 as a result of charitable work during his year on office.  Thank you Mr Mayor!

And Jason Hydraulics of Witney, whose boss is our long-standing member Fred Edwards, had a Christmas collection among their staff, resulting in a cheque for £112.72.  It’s not the first time that this company’s staff have supported OPCSG – many thanks to all of them.

Immunocore is based at Milton Park and is an immunotherapy company tackling cancer, infectious and autoimmune diseases with its technology.  They recently held a summer party and raised £534.25 in a raffle, which they have generously donated to OPCSG.  We are tremendously grateful for this unforeseen support, which will be used for our awareness campaigns.  Local support for a local charity - thank you!

The members of Blackbird Leys Bowls Club support a different charity each year.  This year they raised an amazing £1400 for OPCSG, spurred on by cases of prostate cancer among their members.  It wasn't just a case of shake a bucket: the members organised a whole range of events, some of them by all accounts 'painful to perform'.  Club members James Baldwin and Doug Howell presented this generous cheque to OPCSG Chairman John Grundy at The Fox Inn, the photo taken by David Buckwell who had initiated the contact with OPCSG.  Tremendous thanks to all at Blackbird Leys Bowls Club!

The organisers of Wallingford Vintage Car Rally on 6 May not only allowed OPCSG to have a stand to spread awareness of prostate cancer, but also donated £300 from their own funds to support OPCSG.  Thank you very much.  Our team had a great day out, too.

At the group meeting on 23 January OPCSG member Roger Clarke made a spontaneous and generous donation of £200 to the group.  He said it was an acknowledgement of the support and advice he had received from the group at the time of his diagnosis last year.  Thank you, Roger.

The photo shows OPCSG Committee member Dave Hawes receiving a cheque for £700 from Bob Greenwell, Past Master of Alfred Lodge, and David Wright, current Master of the Lodge.  The cheque was handed over at Witney Carnival on 9 July, and we are extremely grateful for the support offered.

You can see the Lodge's website at http://www.oxfordshirefreemasons.org.uk/news.htm, with a link back to this one.

On 12 June 2016 the landlord of the Lord Kitchener pub in Curbridge, Bernard, held a Queen’s Birthday Carnival and invited OPCSG to come along, talk to people, and benefit from the proceeds of the day.  The event raised £241 and we are most grateful to Bernard and all at the Lord Kitchener for their support.  The photo shows Chairman John Grundy receiving £241 from landlord Bernard de Petrucci under the watchful eye of Steve Holborough, President of Witney Rotary Club who has adopted OPCSG as his charity of the year.

Thank you to an anonymous gentleman who handed over to a Thomas Cook travellers cheque for £100 at a recent OPCSG event.  With help from Thomas Cook we have been able to place the money to the credit of our account.  We have no idea who this gentleman was.

OPCSG member Mike Breakell organised a talk in Finstock Village Hall on 22 April, when traveller and writer John Pilkington spoke fascinatingly about his travels in eastern Europe and the lands bordering Russia.  Mike generously arranged for the proceeds of the evening to be split between OPCSG and PCUK.  Each charity received £180.  Thank you Mike!

The staff at Jason Hydraulics, Witney, have sent a most generous contribution of £276 to OPCSG as a result of their activities for Movember, a carvery lunch for staff and the sale of apples from a local garden.  This is the second time that they have supported OPCSG and we are very grateful for the gesture and the trouble they have taken.  Many thanks to Sarah Edwards and her colleagues.

Entering into the spirit of Movember, Simon Taylor grew a moustache in November – and then got himself sponsored to have it shaved off.  Simon had no previous connection with OPCSG but generously decided to donate the funds raised to the group as the leading local prostate cancer charity.  His cheque for £250 is gratefully received – as are the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos which he sent us.  Thank you very much Simon.

The National Citizenship Service (NCS) is a way for 15 to 17 year olds living in England and Northern Ireland to make extraordinary friendships, learn the skills they don’t teach you in class and create unforgettable memories.  The West Oxfordshire Branch recently donated £263 to OPCSG, for which we are most grateful.  How did that come about?  One of the young participants knew that his grandfather had had prostate cancer, and he persuaded his fellow participants to choose OPCSG as one of the local charities to support in their fundraising efforts.  Much appreciated!

Customers at Waitrose in Wantage have followed the example of those in Witney and Thame by voting a substantial sum to OPCSG in the Community Matters scheme.

Community Matters is the scheme whereby Waitrose generously offer £1000 and allow their customers to vote for a month between three nominated charities.  OPCSG received 36% of the votes cast in Wantage, another example of our impact in the community.

Our thanks go to Waitrose and their supportive customers.

OPCSG member Gerry Tucker had the idea of keeping a dedicated collecting box at home for a year.  He has just returned it with a total of £72.40 collected - as simple as that.  Thank you very much, Gerry!

Many thanks to the anonymous group member who accepted the 'ice bucket challenge' and donated the proceeds of £20 to OPCSG.  Because he made the donation via our MY Donate page https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/oxfordshireprostatecancersupportgroup he was able to add £5 Gift Aid to his donation.

OPCSG has just received this message (5 April) from Waitrose in Thame:  “We are pleased to let you know that Community Matters raised £580, which was one of the most popular charities we have ever had!” 

Community Matters is the scheme whereby Waitrose generously offer £1000 and allow their customers to vote for a month between three nominated charities.  OPCSG received 58% of the votes cast, another example of our impact in the community.

OPCSG Chairman Dave Beesley is seen collecting the cheque from the Duty Manager at Waitrose Thame.

At a November pre-Christmas event featuring sales of creative work at the Blue Boar Hotel in Witney more than £730 was raised and donated to OPCSG funds.  The photo shows OPCSG Chairman Dave Beesley (centre left) and Chris Clinkard (right) reaching in to the lucky dip.

OPCSG are £224 richer after they gave John Grundy a cheque for the charity from proceeds they collect from Abacus Breakfast networking groups during the month of september.