Tai Tarian Staff Dig Deep for Ring20 Research and Support UK

A year of fundraising has come to an end at Tai Tarian, with a record £9000 being raised for the housing association’s chosen charity of the year, Ring20 Research and Support UK.

Staff voted to support the charity at the beginning of 2018 and then set about raising money throughout the year.  Fundraising events included cake sales, raffles and social events as well as staff taking part in marathons in order to raise money for the cause.

The amount represents the most ever raised by Tai Tarian for one of its chosen charities in the seven years the initiative has been running.  It brings the total raised by Tai Tarian staff for the various charities to over £25,000, since 2012.

Ring20 Research and Support UK was established in 2014 to support families, individuals and professionals who are affected by Ring Chromosome 20 Syndrome, an ultra-rare chromosome disorder. The condition affects the normal development and function of the brain and has no known cure.  There are only 138 known cases of Ring20 in the world.

The charity was chosen by staff in support of colleagues Mark Edwards and Joanne Cumberlin, whose son, James, 9 has the condition.

Speaking about the fundraising, Mark and Joanne said:
“We’re really grateful to our colleagues at Tai Tarian for helping to raise this fantastic amount for Ring20 Research and Support.  The charity has been a great source of help and support to us since James was diagnosed with this condition.  They’ve also connected us to other families who are affected so we can continue to learn more about the condition and how it might affect James in the future.”

Allison Watson, Co-founder of Ring20 Research and Support UK said:
“We are really thankful to Mark, Joanne and their colleagues at Tai Tarian for supporting us in 2018.

Ring20 is an extremely rare disease and so much more research is needed to better understand it and how to treat people who suffer from the condition.

We are a small, volunteer run charity and so raising funds to help children like James is a huge undertaking.  The money that Tai Tarian have raised for us will go a long way in helping us better understand the disease whilst also allowing us to support families who are affected.”

In 2019 Tai Tarian will be supporting Maggie’s Cancer centre in Swansea, a charity set up to offers cancer patients and their families emotional support, practical advice and a space to relax and meet others in a similar situation as them.  Previous chosen charities include the Bubble Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society, Anthony Nolan Trust and the Wales Air Ambulance.