At a time when fundraising is close to crisis levels for some charities due to the credit crunch, Helen Bearfield- Smith has raised a staggering £1 million in two years in East Anglia for Teenage Cancer Trust.

It means that a new specialist unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge which started this month can open in December 2010 and will treat patients aged 13 to 24 from across East Anglia and beyond.

Helen is an extraordinary woman and I have the pleasure of knowing her. She worked tirelessly on setting up fundraising committees in each of the six counties in East Anglia and also had two major strokes of luck:

• She secured the support of the very well connected and influential Emilie van Cutsem as Honorary President of the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit Fundraising Development Board. Emilie was very active, and not just a name at the top of headed notepaper. She and her husband Hugh are close friend of Prince Charles.
• Helen also had the full backing of the Cambridge News where she previously worked; barely a day went by when you didn’t see Helen and the TCT get a mention.

Helen is also extremely personable and I can see why anyone would find it hard to say “no” to her. I met her one evening at an event for TCT and she she agreed to come to Headway Cambridgeshire to pass on some of her tips, which was much appreciated; she was very generous with her time and advice. I told her she should write a book so many others could learn from her experiences. I still think she should.

Nationally, the Charities Aid Foundation reports that Britains have given £1.3 billlion less to charities this year compared to 2008. I think Helen can name her price in any future fundraising job she seeks, and I am confident she will not be short of offers from head hunters.

Do you know anyone who has topped Helen’s success in the last couple of years?

Pic courtesy of the Cambridge News. Helen is third from the right.