Way back in 2019, Always Be Content was asked to lend a creative hand to Business Beats Cancer Edinburgh for their annual fundraising event. Staying true to our ethos: dare to care, working alongside Cancer Research UK was a no brainer.
In the five years since, our involvement in the event has grown drastically. As has the charity’s success. Our founding director, Lou, not only joined the board of Business Beats Cancer Edinburgh, but is now Chair. As always, Lou worked hard to make this year’s event better than ever.
BUSINESS BEATS CANCER 2024
The fourth since its inception, 2024’s Business Beats Cancer Annual Dinner kicked off once more at the beautiful Prestonfield House. The event is a highlight of the Edinburgh business community’s social calendar, with many of Edinburgh’s finest business leaders in attendance on the night.
‘Hope’ provided the theme for the evening, and you could feel it in the air. Hope quickly turned into excitement as the event raised a record-breaking £170,000. Over £40,000 more than last year’s total! The proceeds will be put towards life-saving cancer research. It’s a huge achievement, of which we’re very proud.
It’s safe to say that the success of Business Beats Cancer Edinburgh is down to every single person involved. From the speakers and sponsors to our creative team at Always Be Content and everyone who donated, attended, or bid on a prize.
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
We all turn to comedy in times of hardship and there were plenty of laughs to be had on the night. Janey Godley, the multi-award-winning Scottish comedienne, best-selling author, and internet sensation hosted the evening. She’s continually been a light in the darkness, inspiring many with her public battle against cancer. Janey delivered a powerful key-note speech about her cancer journey and secured the largest donation of the night: a whopping £10,000 bid for two custom voice overs.
EXPERTS AND EXPERIENCE
Dr Alex Loftus’ took to the stage to talk about his incredible research into glioblastoma, one of the most common, and the most deadly, adult brain cancers. His lab develops new drugs to treat and prevent this cancer but relies on funding from Cancer Research. Mark Beaumont followed with an encouraging speech about his new Sports Beats Cancer initiative. He’s raising money through cycling, inspired by his friendship with David Smith MBE, a paralympic gold medallist, cancer sufferer and last year’s speaker.
The evening’s final speaker was none other than our Lou Kiddier. Lou eloquently shared her personal experience of losing her mum to cancer, whilst celebrating the achievements made by Cancer Research UK. She looked forward for progress in fighting this disease, stating while we ‘pray for a cure’ we also need to ‘pay for the research’. It’s a sentiment that was certainly shared as everyone came together to raise the highest amount for BBCE to date. Making Edinburgh’s BBC board the best performing board in the UK – £492k total raised!
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Want to join in or get a team together for the 7 Hills challenge in August? Contact [email protected].
If we all dare to care, we can fund life-saving treatments and help make a difference.
