The Red Stripe Band
["a wonderful live rock & roll / jive / swing band who perform all over the UK and Europe"]

Last year Leukaemia Busters celebrated twenty years of progress towards developing new treatments for patients with currently incurable forms of leukaemia.  Since its formation in 1989 by parents of children undergoing treatment for leukaemia at Southampton General Hospital, the charity has made great strides forward in developing antibody treatments for both children and adults with this cruel disease.  Over the years the charity has successfully conducted three separate clinical trials with antibody-based drugs developed in its own flagship laboratory, The Simon Flavell Leukaemia Research Laboratory, located in Southampton General Hospital and work continues there in refining this innovative form of therapy.  

Everything that Leukaemia Busters has achieved over the years has been made possible by charitable donations and the generosity of the charity's supporters; we have never received any government or commercial support.  The continuation of the charity's lifesaving work for patients at home and abroad is dependent on our supporters and the continuation of a successful fundraising campaign.  With this we can, and will, win the fight against leukaemia.

Not long ago the world was paralysed by the fear of polio, which killed or crippled 1000 people a day, most of them children, in more than 125 countries.  Polio eradication has been Rotary's top priority since 1985 and, working with organisations such as the WHO and UNICEF, we have managed to reduce the number of cases by 99% and eliminate polio from all but four countries around the world.  We now have a wonderful opportunity to stamp out this terrible disease once and for all thanks to a magnificent $350m grant from the Gates Foundation.  In return for this Rotary world wide is committed to raising a further $200m by 2012.  Part of the money we raise tonight will go directly towards this target and help to wipe out polio for good.