Members of the Yorkshire Sikh Forum have vowed to continue fundraising for the Telegraph & Argus Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal after holding a collection during a Vaisakhi dinner.

About 300 diners gathered at the Midpoint Suite at the Aagrah restaurant in Thornbury last month for their annual event to mark the Sikh religion’s most important festival, where they gave cash towards our £1 million fundraising campaign to fight cancer here in Bradford.

During the event which raised more than £200, guests, who took part in a raffle, were told how their donations could help Bradford University scientists pioneer new, less toxic cancer treatments ten times faster than ever before.

Nirmal Singh, chairman of the Yorkshire Sikh Forum, said: “We all know someone who has had cancer, whether that’s family or friends, so it’s an important campaign to support.

“It affects all of us.

“Yorkshire Sikh Forum has always supported different charities.

“We hope this donation will help scientists in Bradford make a difference and we hope to raise even more money for the appeal.”

Professor Laurence Patterson, director of the University’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics (ICT), was invited to the dinner by one of the organisers, Manoj Joshi, who was involved in fundraising for our Bradford Can... appeal 12 years ago.

Over 16 months, that campaign raised £1 million towards building the ICT, which in 2011 revealed a pioneering ‘smart bomb’ tumour-blasting treatment – a therapy which could dramatically reduce the horrendous side effects of chemotherapy suffered by cancer patients.

The T&A Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal – which we are running with the University, Yorkshire Cancer Research and principal supporter the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust – will buy the unit a new mass spectrometer, which will allow it to study the role of proteins in cancer.

It is hoped the state-of-the-art machine will help researchers make even more breakthroughs in the war on cancer.

At the meal, Prof Patterson spoke to guests about the campaign’s aims and the difference it will make in the ICT’s bid to create new cancer drugs which do not have the damaging side- effects of existing treatments such as chemotherapy.

The Yorkshire Sikh Forum event also raised money towards a charity which helps disabled people in India.

  • An open day and ‘toddle waddle’ at Russell Street Private Day Nursery will raise cash for the Telegraph & Argus Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal.

There will be a tombola, bouncy castle, raffle and a guest appearance by children’s author Trish Cooke, as well as an opportunity to look around the nursery, in Bradford, from 11am to 3pm tomorrow.

The event will also raise money for the Meningitis Trust. For more information, call (01274) 734365.

e-mail: hannah.postles@telegraphandargus.co.uk Twitter: @HannahP_TandA