Sir Bobby Robson Foundation
Sir Bobby Robson Foundation
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Sir Bobby Robson Foundation

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Sir Bobby Robson Foundation

The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is a British cancer research charity which raises money to fund the early detection and treatment of cancer, and clinical trials of anti-cancer drugs. Based in the North East of England, the Foundation was launched on 25 March 2008 in the name of Sir Bobby Robson, himself a cancer sufferer five times since 1992, and who died of the disease on 31 July 2009.

The initial goal of the Foundation was to raise £500,000 to fund equipment for a cancer research centre being built in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, to be named The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre. Once this was secure, the Foundation would turn its attention to funding other cancer related projects in the North East of England. The Foundation raised £260,000 in just over two weeks.

By November 2008 it had raised over £1 million, double the initial funding target of £500,000 set in February, which itself was passed in just eight weeks. By 15 October 2009, just over 6 weeks after Sir Bobby's death and nearly 19 months after its launch, the charity had raised over £2 million. It passed the £2.5m mark in September 2010.

The Foundation had its origins in a wish by Sir Bobby on the eve of his 75th birthday to leave behind a legacy for future cancer victims in the North East and give something back to the NHS in return for the care he had received in his own battles against cancer. In February 2007 Robson had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and had begun chemotherapy treatment to keep it under control. Robson had initially been reluctant to use his name to raise money, but did so invoking the Geordie idiom, "Shy bairns (children) get nothing".

The foundation is a UK registered charity, and is based in Swalwell village, Tyne and Wear. The Foundation operates in an area stretching north to Northumbria, south to Sunderland, and west to Cumbria, and supports the activities of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Foundation is registered with the Charity Commission as the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Charity

The idea for the foundation came about after Sir Bobby was told by his doctor that an upcoming NHS cancer research centre had no funds in place for equipment. This centre was the Early Cancer Trials Unit in the Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC), one of the largest cancer centres in the United Kingdom. The unit was to be part of the consolidation of the NCCC into a new £80 million centre being built at the Freeman Hospital. Parts of the new NCCC site opened in October 2008, and it was due to be fully open by early 2009.

The 28 December 2008 football match at St James' Park between Newcastle United and Liverpool was designated the Sir Bobby Robson day by the Newcastle United Supporters Club, celebrating the man and raising funds for the foundation.

The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre part of the NCCC was opened on 20 February 2008, staffed by academics from Newcastle University, and medics from the NHS Trust. Robson opened the centre two days after his 76th birthday, with a surprise 15-minute speech, having been expected to attend the ceremony but not speak. In front of guests including Fabio Capello, Alan Shearer and Peter Beardsley, Robson vowed to carry on fundraising.

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