Lizze's Idea Flowers into National Charity Winner

King's School pupil's "Project Rose" wins £10,000 backing to be rolled out nationwide 

Chris Harris - Hampshire Chronicle 6/8/09 - Front Page

IT began as a show of support for her mum, but now a Winchester teenager's fund raising idea has wowed charity bosses and is set to go nationwide.

Three years after Lizze McLean started 'Project Rose', it is one of three campaigns aiming to be the next 'Race for Life' and raise millions of pounds for Cancer Research UK over the next few years.

The 15-year-old began selling £2 silk roses to fellow Kings' School pupils on Valentine's Day, after her mum Victoria was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.

After raising more than £4,000 in the last three years, the mother-and-daughter's ambitous plan to expand the idea has won them £10,000 to develop the campaign.

Lizze said she hopes to spread the campaign to around 100 Hampshire schools next year, the South East the following year, before going national in 2012. 

The pair fought off competition from 150 other fund-rasing ideas in the Open Ventures Challenege - a collaboration between Cancer Research UK and Government quango the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.

Lizze, of St. Giles Hill, who will take her GCSEs next summer, said they were both delighted but shocked to win the challenge.

"It did not really sink in," said the teenager, speaking about the July 17 ceremony in London.

"Mum burst into tears.  I was just sitting there in shock.

"I have always been determined it would become a national campaign.  I never imagined it would happen so quickly."

Victoria McLean, 40, who has been clear of cancer for nearly three years said: "People seem to be able to connect with the project, almost everyone I speak to has been affected by cancer.

"When you're affected by something people tend to get together to try to work for the greater good."

Project Rose had reached a six -strong shortlist after eight months of work, including four business plans and two presentations to the board of Cancer Reaserch UK.

The other two projects to win were a national raffle for 'money can't buy' experiences and an open gym concept - a netowrk of outdoor fitness classes.

Kevin Waudy, head of radical innovation at Cancer Research UK, said "We take innovation very seriously and are always focused on finding different ways to engage our suppporters, both new and existing, effectively in funding our life-saving research.

"We are delighted by the results this challenge has yielded, and have no doubt that the winning ideas will help raise vital funds for our work to beat cancer."