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DT38 Newsletter Channel 38 – June 2020 Edition

Welcome to the DT38 June Newsletter, Channel38.

This is where we bring together all the very latest developments, events and support stories at DT38.

It’s also a chance for us to share important information about the work we do to raise awareness of testicular cancer around schools and in communities as well as publicly offering our thanks to the many people who support us in our endeavours.

Ambassadors sign up for Check 1-Two Campaign

Since launching our Check 1-Two campaign in February, which encourages men and boys to self-check their testicles on the first of every month, we have been blown away by the big-name support for the initiative.

High profile football folk including Matilda’s skipper Sam Kerr, former Socceroo’s captain Mile Jedinak, Luton Town forward Elliot Lee, Perth Glory goalkeeper Liam Reddy and Heidelberg United defender Josh Wilkins have all taken time to record videos to promote the campaign.

We were also so pleased that DT38 Junior Ambassador George Audin also made a film to promote Check 1-Two.

A number of other famous faces are working on videos for us to show on social media on the 1st of each month and we cannot wait to share!

Thank you to everyone who has supported DT38’s Check 1-Two Campaign and most importantly to all men and boys who have checked themselves because of it!

Interview with West Ham Hero Mark Ward

During ‘Lockdown’ we were delighted to have been given the opportunity to have a (socially distanced) interview with former West Ham star and DT38 Ambassador Mark Ward.

Mark was a valuable member of the “Boys of 86”, the Hammers team which took the club to their highest ever place in the top division of English football in 1985/86.

You can read this interview here: https://dt38.org/a-few-minutes-with-dt38-ambassador-mark-ward/

Awareness for DT38 at West Ham v Burnley

Since 2015 we have been delighted to arrange a DT38 Awareness Day at a West Ham United Premier League home fixture every season.

This has always been a great opportunity for DT38 to promote our campaign to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

At previous events we have set up walk-in free cancer scans for men and boys and our co-founder Tracy Tombides has led pitch-side laps of awareness and half time interviews in front of the crowd.

We have seen the Hammers players warm up in DT38 t-shirts and a film about Dylan shown on the stadium screens and an applause for Dylan on the 38th minute of matches.

Our DT38 Awareness Day 2020 was due to be held at the West Ham v Burnley game but because of Covid-19 the match was rescheduled to July 8th and now will take place behind closed doors.

However, we are delighted that there will be a substantial article about DT38 and our work in the match day programme for the game. Please keep your eyes peeled for that!

Rainham Industrial Services Support DT38

It gives us great to pleasure to announce that we are being supported by Rainham Industrial Services (RIS).

The West Thurrock based industrial services specialist –  which supports the installation, maintenance, refurbishment, decommissioning and replacement of large industrial plants and building infrastructure – is the largest privately owned multi-disciplined service provider in the UK.

Rainham Industrial Services sponsored DT38’s White Collar Boxing event in November 2019 and will continue to back the event going forward.

The company recently made a donation of £380 in support our 3.80 Funding Appeal to help us during the Covid-19 crisis and is planning to hold a future golf day to raise funds for our testicular cancer work once social distancing conditions allow and will sponsor and support the DT38 Golf Day which has now been rescheduled because of the pandemic.

The team at Rainham Industrial Services are also considering further fundraising initiatives in the future.

We are extremely grateful to everyone at Rainham Industrial Services for your brilliant support.

Check out the DT38 page on their website here: https://www.rainhamis.co.uk/dt38-foundation/

Rest In Peace Den

We were very sorry to hear about the passing of Den Lepine earlier this month.

Den was a legend of the West Ham United Academy and would drive the young players including Dylan Tombides and Taylor Tombides to training and matches. Den was a life-long Hammer & gave so much to the Club.

Our thoughts are with Den’s family at this very difficult time.

Our Work to Get Through Coronavirus (Covid-19)

It has been reported that in the UK alone – let alone Australia – the first 12 weeks of the Government’s social distancing restrictions has caused a loss of £4.3 billion in lost revenue.

Like many other charities DT38 relies entirely upon donations and fundraising events to carry out our work of protecting men and boys by raising awareness of the risks of testicular cancer.

Because of this terrible crisis, which is tragically taking the lives of loved ones and affecting the lives and livelihoods of so many people, we have experienced the cancellation of eight fundraising events over the next three months.

This has left us in a difficult position financially just three months after we marked the fifth anniversary of our charity.

As a response we launched the 3.80 Funding Appeal.

3.80 Funding Appeal 

On April 18th – six years to the day since we said goodbye to our beloved Dylan Tombides – we launched the 3.80 Funding Appeal following a tough period for our charity caused by Covid-19.

For the past five years we have continued to support men and boys in the UK, Australia and elsewhere through educating them to protect themselves by checking for testicular cancer on the first of every month.

It is more important than ever, during the Coronavirus outbreak, that males take notice of our campaign because our health services are so drastically stretched because of this terrible virus.

Whilst we continue to work tirelessly to share this message to as many people as possible, as a charity we are entirely reliant upon fundraising and donations and we have sadly experienced a dramatic fall in income recently because of the pandemic.

We have been forced to cancel several exciting fundraising events including Golf Days in the UK and Australia, a quiz night and several race events and, understandably, many people have turned their attentions elsewhere during this very difficult time.

We fully appreciate the future is uncertain for many people right now, as it is for DT38 and we are look for support in the hope that we can mark our 6th anniversary in 2021 and far beyond.

We rely upon income to continue to share information about the risks of testicular cancer, the most common type of cancer among young men.

April 18th, 2020, marked the sixth anniversary of the passing of our inspiration, Dylan Tombides, who lost his battle with testicular cancer at the age of just 20.

Through the 3.80 Funding Appeal, we are asking if you can help DT38 and men and boys everywhere by making a donation of £3.80 (UK) or $3.80 (AUS) in support of our work this year. We would also be very grateful for donations from anywhere else in the world.

DT38 has continued to thrive over the past five years because of the wonderfully generous and kind hearted support of so many people and we are extremely grateful to each and everyone of you.

You can donate now here:

UK & Rest of World: https://virginmoneygiving.com/fund/dt38fundingappeal

Australia https://dt38.giveeasy.org/380-funding-appeal

Tracy Tombides, mother of Dylan, said: “Whilst we continue to work tirelessly to raise awareness and educate our youth about testicular cancer and as many people as possible, as a charity we are entirely reliant upon fundraising and donations and we have sadly experienced a dramatic fall in income recently because of the pandemic.

“We have cancelled several exciting fundraising events and, understandably, many people have turned their attentions elsewhere during this very difficult time.

“But we rely upon income to continue to raise awareness about the risks of testicular cancer, the most common type of cancer among young men.

“So that we can move forward with true confidence in the difficult months ahead, we are asking your help.

“We are asking if you can help DT38 and men and boys everywhere by making a donation of £3.80 (UK) or $3.80 (AUS) in support of our work this year.

“We want to say a huge thanks to everyone for your unwavering support and generous donations over the past five years. By continuing to work together in the UK, Australia and further afield we can continue to keep our men and boys safe. 

“Our mission for the next five years appeared to be straightforward, but now our priority has turned to focus on reaching the 6th anniversary in February 2021.  We can only achieve this with your financial support. We want to continue to reach as many people as possible and to encourage men to check themselves down under on a monthly basis.

“In support of this we launched our Check 1-Two Campaign and it couldn’t be easier. On the first of every month remember to give yourselves a quick check down under.

“Why not put a reminder in your phone? 

“Of course, here at DT38 we’re going to be working hard to remind people because we know that self checking save lives – if you catch testicular cancer early you have a much better chance of survival or less complications.”

Support DT38 at our Online Shop

Of course the Coronavirus has had a significant impact upon everyone.

A large part of DT38’s fundraising comes from events we run throughout the year, as well as from individuals, companies and organisations who undertake fundraising initiatives to support our campaign to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

But we, like many others, have sadly been affected by the postponement of cancellation of many events and fundraising opportunities across 2020.

The funds we receive are vital to support our ongoing work to help save the lives of men and boys through education and self checking campaigns.

If you would like to continue supporting DT38 we do still accept direct donations via our website or you could make a purchase through our online store here: https://dt38foundation.myshopify.com

Thank you so much for any support you can give.

Check 1-Two Campaign Launch Reminder

In case you missed it, we marked the 5th anniversary of DT38 in February with the launch of a new and exciting campaign to encourage men and boys to check their testicles regularly.

Spearheaded by a team of big names from the world of football, Check 1-Two is an important new regular event to educate males to be safe in the nether regions by carrying out a simple check on the first day of every month.

Whether you’re in the shower, in bed, at home on the sofa or anywhere else suitably private, it only takes a couple of minutes to examine your balls.

And keeping an eye (or hand to be totally accurate) on your nuts could save your life, so it really is minimal effort for maximum peace of mind.

Of course, if you are checking yourself on the first of every month (as is the mantra of Check 1-Two) and you notice a pea sized lump, pain or discomfort that you cannot explain then you should book into your GP as soon as possible and insist on an ultrasound scan.

Tracy Tombides, co-founder of DT38, is the brains behind the campaign.

She said: “Check 1-Two couldn’t be easier. On the first of every month remember to give yourselves a quick check down under.

“Why not put a reminder in your phone? 

“Of course, here at DT38 we’re going to be working hard to remind people because we know that self checking save lives – if you catch testicular cancer early you have a much better chance of survival or less complications.

“And girls, you have a part to play too. Remind your husbands, partners, sons, brothers, dads and grandads and friends that they need to have a grab on the first of every month, just remember Check 1-Two”.

DT38 was founded in 2015 to raise awareness of testicular cancer in memory of West Ham and Australia footballer Dylan Tombides who passed away from the disease in April 2014.

Many Happy Returns

A heavyweight hat-trick of birthdays in June for the DT38 team.

On June 15th our Media & Communications Manager for Australia, Donna Giuffre was 32 and four days later our co-founder Tracy Tombides celebrated being one year older.

On June 24th DT38 Patron Daniel Garb celebrated this big day.

Many Happy Returns one and all!

Picture of the Month

We receive loads of great pictures each month from people across the globe showing their support for DT38 and just for fun (no prizes), we award one image the “Picture of the Month” title.

This month the plaudits go to Dazza Gibbo (Twitter name), a Hammers fan and supporter of ours looking supercool in a DT38 hoodie he received for this birthday earlier this month.

We love it!

Sharing the Love 

We are so grateful to more than 35,000 people who follow and support us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Every month we receive so many shares, Retweets, likes and tags and we’re so grateful for each and every one of them, thank you.

And that brings to end this edition but we’ll be back with the next edition of Channel38 in July.

If you have helped DT38 in some way in recent times, please be sure to let us know so we can include it in one of our future newsletters. Contact tracylee@dt38.org or connect with us on Twitter Facebook or Instagram