On Friday 13 August, Lord’s, the Home of Cricket, once again turned red for the Ruth Strauss Foundation’s annual #RedforRuth day at Day Two of the LV= Insurance Test Match between England and India.
The Ruth Strauss Foundation has raised £1,204,447 in fundraising during the second LV= Insurance Test at Lord’s. This surpasses the amounts raised in 2020 and 2019 - an incredible feat for a charity that is less than three years old and testament to the unwavering support of the cricket family.
This year’s #RedforRuth campaign will raise awareness of the foundation’s new Family Support Service. Building on the Foundation’s promise to support families when facing one of life’s toughest tests, this service provides much-needed pre-bereavement support for families with dependent children, where a parent is told they don’t have much longer to live, and helps families prepare for grief, death and dying.
"This year’s Red for Ruth has been my proudest yet"
Sir Andrew Strauss comments: “From seeing children supported by our charity ring the five minute bell on Friday to Joe Root saying he was thinking about the Foundation during his incredible batting spell, to standing with Mark Chapman on the pitch sharing our stories of facing grief, this year’s Red for Ruth has been my proudest yet. Ruth would have been utterly humbled and delighted by the generosity of the crowds and the cricket family, as am I. Your generosity means so much to me but more importantly it means we can help even more families than we could have expected prepare for grief, death and dying. From the bottom of my and my boys’ hearts: thank you.”
Every day, more than 64 parents will be told they have a terminal diagnosis – that’s 23,600 every year and 41,000 dependent children bereaved annually. During the second Test alone, the charity has been approached by at least 60 families with dependent children where a parent has been told they don’t have long to live and are unsure of how to break the news to their children. The Ruth Strauss Foundation Family Support Service will now step in to help.
Strauss continues: “In addition to the incredible funds raised, Red for Ruth is also about raising awareness, breaking taboos and, in Ruth’s words, helping families ‘Do death well’. To know because of the wonderful support we’ve had, sixty more families are not facing grief alone and many more up and down the country will be supported over the coming months is exactly what Ruth wanted.”
Karina Murtagh, Ruth Strauss Foundation Chief Executive Officer explains how the record total will help: “Thanks to the immense support of the cricketing community and beyond, we will now be able to scale up our Family Support Service faster and really drive the development and roll out of our Training Programme, to a wider cancer care team. Apart from enabling us to support even more families across the country, it will mean we can reach them sooner, so that more families are supported the instant they receive the news of a terminal diagnosis – rather than having to search for support for themselves.”
Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer said: “As we come to the climax of a fantastic Test match it is absolutely brilliant news that the Ruth Strauss Foundation have raised over £1 million so far. That money will help families in need during their darkest hours and fund vital research into non-smoking lung cancers. Everyone in the cricketing family should feel incredibly proud of what has been achieved over the past few days.”
"It has been an honour to host the Red for Ruth day at Lord’s in support of the Ruth Strauss Foundation."
Guy Lavender, Chief Executive and Secretary of MCC commented: "It has been an honour to host the Red for Ruth day at Lord’s in support of the Ruth Strauss Foundation. It’s a remarkable milestone that the charity has reached over £1 million and we are delighted that our Members and spectators have shown such incredible support by donating to this vitally important cause throughout the duration of the Test Match at Lord’s."
Heather Smith, Managing Director at LV= General Insurance said: “The Ruth Strauss Foundation is such an important charity and we’re delighted to play our part in promoting the vital role it plays providing pre-bereavement support for families.”
For more information, visit: www.ruthstraussfoundation.com
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