The charity’s annual Flame of Hope Awards recognises remarkable efforts in fundraising and volunteering made by people from all walks of life.

The Ballymoney local committee was highly commended in the Fundraising in the Community category, beating off stiff competition from across the UK.

Committee Chairman, Mervyn Ferris, and Treasurer, Ivor Wallace, picked up the award last week (Friday June 6) at a special ceremony in London hosted by Cancer Research UK’s Chairman, David Newbigging.

An audience at the Café Royal in Regent Street heard how the group, under Mervyn’s chairmanship, set themselves a very ambitious target – to raise £50,000 to mark their 50th anniversary year.

The committee rose to the challenge and supported by some 40 collectors, every opportunity to maximise their fundraising and promote the work of Cancer Research UK was siezed.

The local community joined in the anniversary celebrations, lending their support throughout the year at the various activities this enthusiastic band of volunteers crammed into the calendar, such as – a fun run; annual parade of bands & vintage car rally; a Big Breakfast held in the local Joey Dunlop Leisure Centre and a dedicated flower bed on the approach to the town, provided by Borough Council.

A concert featuring The Ulster Scots Folk Orchestra was held and Balnamore Primary School and the Local Postal Service also gave their support to a sponsored van pull through the town.

Various other groups within the community also organised events and donated the money to Cancer Research UK, with one lady contributing a fantastic £9,100 from her 40th Birthday Celebration.

The endorsement of the local mayor, who hosted a special anniversary dinner dance led to another successful event, all enabling the committee to achieve their goal – in fact they surpassed the target, raising an amazing £52,000.

“We are delighted to receive this award on behalf of the people of Ballymoney,” said Mervyn, “Without their support, none of this would have been possible.”

Jean Walsh, Cancer Research UK senior press officer for Northern Ireland said: “These awards are our way of saying thanks to the people who are the lifeblood of our organisation – people who give of their time freely to raise money for research and promote greater awareness of the disease, and yet ask for nothing in return. We salute our supporters everywhere because together we will beat cancer.”

Ballymoney Cancer Research Committee would like supporters to know that those member who travelled to London for the presentation did so at their own expense and were not funded by any contribution which anyone has made to Cancer Research.