I'm Vic, Dan Zalepa's friend and colleague. Dan had three years of treatment for leukaemia before passing away in early January 2022. He was 40 years old. He met his wife at art college when they were both 17 and, when he passed, their son was 10 and their daughter was 6. Dan was highly talented at his job in brand visual design, and always smiley, caring and huge fun, much loved at work. His team mates started fundraising for the charity Cure Leukaemia in March 2019, raising £2,500 with a quiz night. And to mark what would have been Dan's 41st birthday, we raised thousands more by holding a ball at West Bromwich Albion while some of his family in a band in LA put on a gig. We're continuing to fundraise for Cure Leukaemia because this is what Dan wanted to do. The charity was very close to his heart, set up by his hospital consultant, Professor Charlie Craddock, to fund the running of medical trials to help patients for whom all the usual treatments have failed. The charity plays a crucial part not just in helping people who would otherwise certainly die, but also in linking up cutting-edge medical teams all over the world to strive to beat blood cancer together. Dan himself benefitted directly from care and treatment funded by Cure Leukaemia. He was determined to help others like him. 

If you'd like to do something positive on behalf of Dan, please donate money direct to the charity via this page. 

People with leukaemia also often need stem cell donors - it's really easy to register as a possible match for someone (it's just a saliva test you do yourself at home) and donating stem cells is most usually a short process similar to giving blood - by which you save someone's life. Find out more at dkms.org.uk. Please don't think 'I'll do it later', please do it now. 

People with leukaemia also rely on constant blood transfusions so blood donation is vital - you can find out about giving blood here: www.blood.co.uk. If you've been thinking about giving blood but haven't got round to it, now would be a great time to take the first step. 

On behalf of Dan, THANK YOU. Love, peace, joy, HOPE. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.