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Our community of funders in 2023 - meet the Duchenne army

Our impact in treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) could not have been achieved without our community of funders. From the children raising money through Duvet Days to the Family & Friends Funds energising communities to donate to our funding partners who see the potential of a large grant. Our major donors, grant funders, corporate donors, people who make regular donations, and those who leave money in legacies and in memory of someone.

They are all united behind our mission to end DMD.

To everyone who has helped us this year, a huge THANK YOU!

Support from Her Majesty

Her Majesty The Queen has been one of our most steadfast supporters since we began the fight to end Duchenne, and we really appreciated her support in 2023.

From holding an event for us in February, to celebrating our Director of Research, Dr Alessandra Gaeta, on International Women’s Day for her leadership of our SMART Suit project.

Thank you to Her Majesty The Queen, for your support this year.

Our partner charities

“Joining Jack, along with Alex’s Wish and the Duchenne Research Fund, are key funders of Duchenne UK. Our incredible partnership is founded on our determination to transform care and treatment for people with DMD. You can see what has been achieved in 2023 thanks to this special partnership.”

Alex Johnson OBE, Founder of Joining Jack and co-founder of Duchenne UK

“Working with Duchenne UK gives us the motivation and hope to continue our important work, we could not thank them enough for their support and encouragement over the years. We regularly talk and have meetings ensuring that we can effectively collaborate and work as efficiently as possible. We look forward to continuing our work with them in 2024.”

Emma Hallam, Founder of Alex’s Wish

Rugby Legends Breakfast

Martin Offiah MBE, Andy Farrell OBE and Shaun Edwards OBE, gave their time to take part in an exclusive panel discussion to raise money for our vital work in assistive technology, specifically the SMART Suit. They took time out to support Duchenne UK at the event, ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

The Duchenne Dash - London to Paris in 24 hours

Duchenne UK’s flagship fundraising event is the Duchenne Dash, now in its 11th year. 158 riders cycled from London to Paris in 24 hours, raising £832,831.

Our founders, Emily and Alex, and their partners, Nick and Andy, all took part, along with our Chair, Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Keen supporters who couldn’t join the ride contributed via the Duchenne Dash AT HOME, cycling locally to contribute almost £40,000 to the total.

Since its inception, committed Duchenne Dashers have helped to raise £7.3 million towards our mission.

The Duchenne Dash 2024 rolls out from London on the 17th May 2024, arriving in Paris on Saturday 18th May for the riders’ gala dinner in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. 

People’s Postcode Lottery

Thanks to a £1.25 million award from People’s Postcode Lottery, we are creating the SMART Suit, which will support the independence of people with DMD.

Taking on a challenge for Duchenne UK

We are so thankful to our incredible community of fundraisers who always amaze us with their creativity and commitment to Duchenne UK. This year they’ve hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro, walked on the wings of an aircraft in flight and taken their kilts out for a stroll – to name just a few of their achievements!

Congratulations and well done to our team of dedicated runners who have taken on challenges for Duchenne UK this year, including raising £19,030 on the Royal Parks Half marathon, £2,750 on the London Marathon and £3,950 on the Great North Run.

Our fundraising campaigns

Duvet Days – this was our cosiest fundraiser, perfect for the cold days of February. Families raised money by taking time out to ‘Du’ nothing, but still raising £28,998

Duchenneber – our annual advent calendar with festive photos of our families’ boys and siblings, which are shared on social media. 

Joining our fight - Our Family & Friends Funds

As a charity set up by two mothers of DMD boys, we know the power and potential of families. All too often patients and families are left feeling utterly helpless, forced on a DMD journey with no say about what will happen.

To empower parents, we launched Family & Friends Funds – a simple way to raise money under their own child’s name without the headache of setting up their own charity. And families can choose which Duchenne UK projects they want to invest in.

Our first funds were set up in 2016. We now have 50 Family & Friends Funds. Together they have raised more than £3.6 million, and raised just over £330,000 during 2023 alone!

There are so many fundraising activities we could mention but here are a few that caught our eye this year: Henry’s Hills held a gala dinner in November which raised £20,000, fundraiser Jimmy Jackson walked a million steps for Moving Muscles for Marcus, and Oscar’s Duchenne Challengers completed the 45km Big Black Mountain challenge.

Interested in finding out more about Family & Friends Funds?

Get in touch with [email protected]

Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year!

 

Thank you to our Family and Friends Funds and partner charities:

Access to Life
Action 4 Arvin
Action for Zach
Aidan’s World
Archie’s Army
Archie’s March
Backing Jack
Ben vs Duchenne
Bruce’s Battle Squad
Changing Charlie’s Future
Chasing Connor’s Cure
Cure4George
Defending William Against DMD
Doing it for Dexter
Edward Steam Team
Elliot’s Endeavours
Fight for Finn
Following Felix
For Felix
Help Harry
Helping Hayden
Henry’s Hills
Henry’s Hurdles
Hope for Harry
Jack’s Aim
Jack’s Mission
Jacobi’s Wish
Jayden’s Army
Joe’s Journey to end Duchenne
Life & Hope for Lenny
Lifting Louis
Love for Leon
LucasFightingDuchenne
Lygo Family Fund
Mac My Day
Matthew’s Mighty Mission
Mission Jensen
Moving Muscles for Marcus
Muscles for Mitchell
Oscar’s Duchenne Challengers
Project GO
Ralphy’s Fund
Smile with Shiv
Standing with Jack
Strength for Stanley
Team Callum
Team Dex
Team Felix
Team Oscar
Together for Rhys
William’s Fund

Thank you to our donors and funders:

Alex Latham
Anthony and Alessandra Gutman
Aubin
Bunzl
Chris Hohn Foundation
David Soanes
Dominic Silvester
DTRE
Emma Keswick
Eurohedge Awards
Evoke Mind+Matter
Fastned
Foodbuy
Fuel 10k
Gary and Penny Chapman
Harry Blundun
Henfield Storage
Iain and Martha Parham
ICE Futures
Invesco Cares Foundation
JAA Media
LCH
Logical Safety Solutions
Lucy Wray
LXA
Mark Lavery
MBN
Pearson Performance
People’s Postcode Lottery
Priory Foundation/Saracens
Rice Search Partners
Rockcliffe Charitable Trust
Sinclair Trust
Smart Water (Coca Cola)
The Brother’s Trust
The Garfield Weston Foundation
The Patrick Trust
The PM Society
The Tyburn
Tom Wickert (Passenger Bikes)
UCC Coffee
UKRI
WinTrust
With Intelligence

A special thank you to the Dash Ride Captains and volunteers who make the ride possible!

 

Duchenne UK Impact Report 2023

A landmark year of achievement and impact