Our Charity Work

Barry Thompson, an ambassador of the teenage cancer unit at The Christie, wanted to do something special during his Presidential year for the Insurance Institute of Manchester(IIM) to help make a valuable contribution to the local community. At the IIM AGM on 16th April 2013, as Barry was officially inaugurated as President he revealed his ambitious plan to raise £150,000 in aid of The Christie.

The £150,000 would fund a new high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) room, as part of the Young Oncology Unit, where teenagers and young adults under cancer treatment can stay in a safe environment and an extra bed is provided for a family member to stay with them.

Barry stated: “As president of the Insurance Institute of Manchester I thought this would be a great opportunity to leave a legacy and share my enthusiasm for The Christie with others. I wanted to encourage other insurance businesses to get involved."

On the 16th April 2013 in The Hilton Hotel in Manchester, ‘Barry’s Project 150’ was born!

Former Manchester City footballer and fellow patron of The Christie, Dennis Tueart supported the Barry 150 project along with a wide range of family, friends, colleagues, and associates. A huge number of events took place during the year from coffee mornings to sky dives and from cocktail parties to zip wire challenges.

Barry’s Project 150 also saw 20 prominent business leaders from the insurance industry ‘locked up’ in the Victorian cells of the Greater Manchester Police Museum with the challenge of raising £1,500 each, to be released.Participants in Lock Up Your Boss included David Gillan, Executive Director of McLarens; Paul Moors, CEO of the Bollington Group; and Simon Gallimore, Senior Manager at AIG.

A keen runner and member of Stockport Harriers, Barry also recruited a team of more than 80 people to run in the 2014 Greater Manchester Marathon. The Barry’s Project 150 team included Dave Norman, winner of the Manchester Marathon in 2012 and 2013, Andi Jones, the eventual winner of the 2014 marathon, and Emmerdale stars Tony Audenshaw, Liam Fox and Laura Norton who play Bob Hope, Dan Spencer and Kerry Wyatt.

In total £224,412 was raised and by raising the extra money Barry was able to part-fund a second state-of the-art patient room within the unit.

“I’m so proud to know that what we’ve all achieved has contributed to not just one room in the fabulous new treatment centre, but two state-of-the-art rooms that will benefit young patients. These specialist rooms help protect young cancer patients, giving them the very best environment in which to receive their treatment and care.”