Hello, We’re Action Medical Research.
We’re the leading UK-wide charity funding vital research to help sick and disabled babies, children and young people.
Around one in nine babies born in the UK needs some form of special care at birth as a result of a difficult birth, a life-threatening condition or because they were born too early. With your help we will aim to reduce the high rate of premature birth, prevent pregnancy complications that threaten babies’ lives, and find the best ways to care for sick and vulnerable babies.
You might not have heard of us but we have been funding medical breakthroughs since we began in 1952 like the first polio vaccines in the UK (https://bit.ly/1L8tUfY), ultrasound in pregnancy (https://bit.ly/2kIOyIk) and the rubella vaccine (https://bit.ly/2smJzlw) – helping to save thousands of children’s lives and change many more.
Here is a link to some more of our success stories including research into Still Births which resulted in the “Sleep on your Side” campaign as well as discovering the importance of taking folic acid before and during pregnancy to prevent spina bifida much many more.
One other success that many of us will have experienced is the fetal heart rate monitor. Thanks to funding from Action, the monitoring device was developed, it reads the heart signals of an unborn baby in the womb, through electrodes placed on the mother’s skin. Do click here to find out more.
Cycling
It’s fair to say we’re BIG cycling fans!
Throughout the summer we organise lots of cycling events including the York 100 (https://www.action.org.uk/york-100) on 19 August! And our BIG annual fundraiser is the Champions of CycleSport Dinner (https://bit.ly/2s0Kb2v) which is held in London. Regular guests / speakers include: Dani Rowe MBE, Katie Archibald, Alex Dowsett, Chris Boardman MBE and many more! It’s a pretty cool event for anyone who’s into their cycling anyway J.
But it’s not just about the cycling; we hold a variety of fundraising events including dinners, art auctions, fairs and plenty more besides. You can see for yourself here (https://bit.ly/1VJ5BtV).
Volunteers
We’re ALWAYS looking for people to get involved and help us.
With all the cycling, hiking and running events we’re involved in there are always opportunities to lend a hand. Whether it’s cheering on cyclists, handing out medals, organising car boot sales or even just sharing our social media messages there really is something for everyone. Whether you have time every week to spare or perhaps just an afternoon every year we can probably find something for you to help us with. Find out more about volunteering for Action here (https://bit.ly/2mhjxhG) or email Jane Charlton via jcharlton@action.org.uk
Many thanks for taking the time to read a bit about us. If you would like to find out more, do please visit our website https://www.action.org.uk/