All the profits raised from my Fields of Dawn album are going to 3 cancer charities. I thought it would be a nice idea to write down a little about the charities. As things stand £550 has been raised by pre-sales so far. I still have 77 Vinyl LPs and 35 CDs left, and if by some minor miracle I can sell the lot then the figure raised will rise substantially. I’m so grateful for all the support so far x
Bowel Cancer UK: I began fundraising for Beating Bowel Cancer in 2012 after Mum’s bowel operation and have continued to do so after the merger with Bowel Cancer UK in 2018. Mum lived with stage 4 bowel cancer for 4 and a half years, but sadly died in 2016. Over the years I have published 3 books, sold clothing, art, mugs, cuddly toys and even jumped out of a plane, which for someone with a massive fear of heights was quite an achievement. I guess over £10,000 has been raised for the charity to date. In November I will go past 10 years of fundraising for this wonderful charity. Hopefully this musical release will add more funds to the amount already raised. Bowel Cancer UK is the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. They are determined to save lives and improve the quality of life of everyone affected by bowel cancer. Their vision is a future where nobody dies of the disease.
Love Hope Strength: Co-founded by Mike and Jules Peters of my favourite band The Alarm, who I have followed for 39 years. I first heard their 3rd single The Stand in March 1983, and two months later 4 of us from school went up to see The Alarm at The Marquee. A life-changing experience. However, it has been my fundraising that has really brought so many new friendships within The Alarm community. The support for all my fundraising has been amazing and so very generous. Mike has lived with leukemia for over 20 years. Love Hope Strength Foundation as a charity promotes innovative, music related, outreach and awareness programmes for leukemia and cancer sufferers, survivors and their families. Its mission is to save lives, right now, with the advances that have already been made in cancer care. The funds raised are used to purchase medical equipment and supplies, raise awareness through special events, documentaries and media, build cancer centers. LHS raises awareness and recruits potential donors to the organ and bone marrow registers.
The Bowel Movement: The Bowel Movement was founded in 2021 by Abigale Morris, her mum, Josephine and her sister Stephanie. The Bowel Movement began back in 2018 after Benjamin Millard was diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer at the age of just 33. Benj died on 15th April 2019, just 2 weeks before his 34th Birthday. It’s a small bowel cancer charity with a big mission to support individuals and their families who are faced with a life changing diagnosis. The charity aims to increase awareness and education: To advance the education of in particular, young individuals (under the age of 50), by promoting understanding, awareness, early detection and treatment of bowel cancer. Provide relief to those in need who have been disadvantaged due to ill health or financial hardship as a result of a bowel cancer diagnosis and/or to their carers and families. To relieve sickness and preserve the health of the patients of bowel cancer by providing or assisting in the provision of equipment, facilities and services to aid the treatment of bowel cancer. I connected with Abby on social media and have found what she and the charity do in honour of Benji quite inspiring. I have been branching out my cancer fundraising over the last year or so, and feel that it’s important to try and support the smaller charities as well as the bigger ones. Not that there is anything small about The Bowel Movement ❤
The profits raised by the album will be divided equally three ways, so the more copies I can sell, the more funds each charity will receive. It’s been a difficult few years for all charities and things remain very tough as they are for all of us. Every single order for the album is greatly appreciated.
Released on September 16th, pre-order A New Dawn from www.rivers2cross.com
Track 2 on the album is On The Way Back, which was released as a single last year. I think if I hadnt written and recorded this song then the album might never have been made. Produced by Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard, drummer with The Alarm, and he also played drums on the track for me. It had to be included on the album, and it gives you a flavour on the type of music to expect, and the video typifies the type of support that I receive for my fundraising endeavours x