Fundraising – Goals, needs and spending
Our Goals
LAM Action has raised £30-40,000 a year for the last three years. Fundraising schemes include Christmas cards and Golden Bonds for the London Marathon, but most comes from initiatives from individual patients. Grants for LAM research have been obtained from the LAM Foundation, British Lung Foundation and Nottingham University.
Why do we need to raise money?
There are three good reasons
- to pursue basic research to find the cause of LAM
- to carry out research to see which treatment is best
- to provide better support for patients with LAM.
Money is needed for basic research. In Nottingham we are trying to determine how changes in the two proteins that are abnormal in LAM, tuberin and hamartin, lead to the increased growth of LAM cells. Knowledge of the cellular events involved in LAM has already led to the development of one possible treatment (rapamycin).
How will the money be spent?
- Our initial aim is to obtain at least £70,000 PA for the next 3 years so that we can continue to support a full time post-doctoral scientist and consumables to continue basic laboratory research.
- We are now embarking on clinical trials of rapamycin and doxycycline, and other potential treatments are in the pipeline. The group in Nottingham is working with colleagues in Europe to help co-ordinate multicentre trials.
- More money would also enable us to provide greater administrative support to LAM Action and thereby to patients with LAM.
Money for research will be pursued from grant giving bodies, but it isn’t easy to raise money for rare diseases. Having additional monies enables the research to proceed more rapidly, funds pump priming experiments and provides administrative support to help LAM Action and research.
We hope you can help support LAM Action and research into this rare and distressing disease.
How Can you Help?
There are many ways in which you can help.
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