LOVE HOPE STRENGTH – 10th Anniversary Year in 2017
As we move into the 10th Anniversary year of Love Hope Strength it is humbling to reflect on the wonderful life the charity has lived through the achievements, accomplishments and great times we have been able to share with our incredible support community and extended family.
In 2007, we came into being and climbed the steps of the Empire State Building in NYC, holding the first ever Snowdon Rocks before heading to Nepal for the life changing Everest Rocks.
Since then we have been back to Nepal for a second time and same for Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, along with adventures in Japan (Mt. Fuji), Peru (Machu Picchu), and Hawaii for Kauai Rocks – building and affecting cancer centres and services along the way.
Making a difference wherever Love Hope Strength travels has since become the norm and none of it possible, without the amazing support of individuals, families and official sponsors who have answered the call to save lives one concert at a time.
We have extended our reach into the rock and roll community and now have a list of over 10,000 supporting artists, managers and concert promoters whose grace in allowing us to attend their concerts and festivals, has resulted in over 150,000 new registrations to the international bone marrow donor list along with 1,500 plus potentially life saving matches paired through our successful ‘Get On The List’ program.
All of this has been enabled through our ongoing partnership with DKMS – We Delete Blood Cancer, a family like tie that has proved strong and sustained our endeavour in the field of saving lives with a faithful band of trusted and tireless Love Hope Strength volunteers.
We are family one and all, and I would like to thank all those who have been been a part of the story in one way or another.
Love Hope Strength has gathered some amazing people together and done some amazing things.
We have lost of course, but when one door closes another opens and we never forget those who have enriched our lives along the way.
We look to the future at all times so that Love Hope Strength is prepared and ready for whatever is next.
Cancer unites and divides us, bring us together and tears us apart like no other force in life.
We have to be strong to stand in its wake, to be there when the tears fall and to help pick up the pieces, to lift each other up in the victories and to console in defeat.
We are Love Hope Strength – together.
We are a family, a team and it is with renewed optimism that I look to the years ahead with the knowledge that despite everything thrown at us since we first came into being, Love Hope Strength still stands – growing stronger while cancer grows ever weaker.
The treatments are there, the early detection is there, the medical science is there and making ever greater advances that finally has cancer on the run and why the LHS team has never been as committed as it is today.
The original founders of Love Hope Strength – James Chippendale, myself and my wife Jules who were together on day one are still here and as committed as ever, board member Richard Rees (who brought the three of us together), is still here and working hard to make our organisation more effective, Alex Coletti and George Devanney (our first ever board members), are still here bringing influence in the fields of rock and roll and politics, along with Ron Kolenic (a cancer survivor who is providing much needed guidance and keeping our organisation accountable), and advisory board member Tom Flanagan who keeps our message guidelines straight and true.
Our loyal and trusted staff members who will take us forward into 2017 are built on LHS foundation and principle such as indomitable US Team leader Natalie James and her staff consisting of Chris Cofman (who volunteered in the field for many years and personally registered thousands of individuals at his own cost), Jason Chavez (another former volunteer who stepped up and bought his skill of rock and roll event management with him resulting in LHS participation in more music festivals than ever before) and the road warrior that is Rob Rushing (much loved longest standing LHS Tour manager with very personal ties to many of our artists and managers). In the U.K. we have an incredibly dedicated all volunteer force co-ordinated and directed as one by Jules Peters and Lydia Franklin and supported by the ever trustworthy Andy Labrow who co-ordinates our online presence along with solid backup from our longstanding U.K. Board members Maria Hallows and Danny Cohen.
Together, we have fostered a great team spirit that will see LHS into the future with safe hands.
Ten years ago, Love Hope Strength started life as an idea and an ideal in the kitchen of the home I share with my wife and life partner Jules.
James Chippendale from Dallas, Texas was our house guest in Wales on the day and we all sat together around the computer and registered the www.lovehopestrength.org domain name and in one click Love Hope Strength foundation was born.
Back then, only James and I had been blessed with cancer and the statistics of the day claimed that 1 in 3 people would be affected by the disease (we thought we were unlucky that two of us had been affected).
Now in 2017, cancer has directly touched 3 out of the 3 of us – James and I from Leukaemia and (since the summer), Jules with Breast Cancer and the statistics have been revised by the World Health Organisation to 1 in every 2 people will be affected.
More reason then ever to continue to do what we do at Love Hope Strength.
Thank you,
Mike Peters
Co-Founder of Love Hope Strength