Spectators attending day three of the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge on Saturday are being encouraged to wear red and show their support for this year’s #RedforRuth campaign to raise funds and awareness for the charity established in memory of Sir Andrew Strauss’ late wife.
The initiative begins the build-up towards day two of the second Men’s Ashes Test on June 29, which will mark the fifth annual #RedforRuth day at Lord’s. There, the public are invited to show their support for the foundation which raises awareness and funds to support families facing the death of a parent from cancer by wearing red and donating to the charity.
The foundation has raised more than £3 million since its inception in 2019, following the death of Ruth Strauss, who was diagnosed with an incurable non-smoking lung cancer at the age of 46. The couple believed in the importance of having candid conversations about her incurable diagnosis, death and dying with their two sons, who were only 10 and 13 years old when she died in December, 2018.
Those funds have enabled the foundation to launch its free family support service, a training programme for healthcare professionals called “No Conversation too Tough” and to build a support system for parents and their children in keeping with twin missions; to ensure families with a child facing the death of a parent from cancer are offered professional emotional support to prepare for the future and to advocate for greater awareness, research and collaboration in the fight against non-smoking lung cancers.
“The harsh reality is that since I set up the charity, around 185,000 children will have lost a parent,” Sir Andrew Strauss said. “We are immensely proud and grateful for what we have been able to achieve so far – but we have a long way to go. The ambition is to help as many people as possible, and days like #RedforRuth at Lord’s are vital for us to keep going.”
Heather Knight, the England Women’s captain, said: “I’ve been a huge admirer of the Ruth Strauss Foundation since the first ever Red for Ruth and I’m delighted the foundation is coming to the Trent Bridge Test to raise awareness of the amazing work they do. It’s a great cause and the whole England team is fully behind the foundation and its incredible work.”
Lisa Pursehouse, chief executive at Trent Bridge, said the venue was delighted to begin the build-up to the Lord’s event “with Trent Bridge turning red during the Women’s Ashes game”.
“It’s always heartening to see cricket fans uniting to show their support for such an important cause,” she added. “By wearing red and donating to the Ruth Strauss Foundation, fans can help create a buzz, help spread the word and make a real difference to the lives of families affected by cancer. We hope to see as many people as possible donning their red attire on June 24th and showing their early support for #RedforRuth.”
Visitors to the ground can make donations and buy merchandise to show their support for the foundation.
Visit www.ruthstraussfoundation.com/redforruth for more information