Changes to our education programme

Anthony Nolan’s education programme for 16-18 year olds is changing.

Anthony Nolan has delivered the Register & Be a Lifesaver (R&Be) programme since 2009 as the legacy of journalist Adrian Sudbury, who died from leukaemia aged 27.

Over the last eight years we have worked with volunteers in schools and colleges to reach over 280,000 young people and educate them about the importance of blood, organ and stem cell donation and inspire them to save lives.  

Education is constantly changing, which means our programme needs to work for young people learning in 2017 and beyond. We are adapting our offer to make sure we are meeting the needs of our young audience and those supporting us to raise awareness in a flexible and sustainable way.

We’re thrilled to announce that, from September, our education programme will be known as The Hero Project.

The Hero Project volunteers will continue to deliver our core model of presentations, where it works well, in schools and colleges. In addition we will expand our offering, providing shorter talks, new resources and follow-up materials and opportunities for young people to get more involved in Anthony Nolan’s lifesaving work.

We can’t wait to work more closely with new and existing supporters to reach young people we haven’t previously engaged with, including those who study outside the traditional education environment.

Our praise for Keith & Kay Sudbury

As we launch The Hero Project, Register & Be a Lifesaver started by Adrian Sudbury, will continue as an Independent Charitable Trust run by Adrian’s parents Keith and Kay. Register & Be a Lifesaver will continue to deliver awareness raising presentations about stem cell, blood and organ donation in schools and colleges in the East Midlands.

Adrian Sudbury was the driving force for education at Anthony Nolan and his legacy will continue in both R&Be and The Hero Project. Adrian’s vision has already resulted in 69 young people going on to donate their stem cells and we are confident that this number will continue to grow.

We wish the Sudburys the very best, and look forward to working with them on their new venture.

We are immensely proud of what our education programme has achieved. So far 22,000 young people have joined the Anthony Nolan donor register and 69 have been selected to donate stem cells to a stranger. In addition, more than 13,000 have registered as blood donors and over 6,000 as potential organ donors thanks to the programme. This would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our volunteers and Keith and Kay Sudbury, Adrian’s parents.

We are confident that through our new approach information about the importance of blood, stem cell and organ donation will reach more potential lifesavers than ever before.