Read a Christmas message of hope from a mum Jeans for Genes has helped this year

Make a real difference this Christmas

My name is Rebecca and I have two daughters, Amy aged 2 and Laura just 4 months old. All three of us have the hereditary genetic disorder Treacher Collins – a syndrome which mainly affects the development of full facial features and causes deafness.
When my eldest daughter Amy was born, she had to be tube fed for the first 14 months of her life and have a procedure to open her left nasal passage. Amy will need three more operations to reconstruct her ears when she is four years old, a hearing aid implant plus cheekbone implants at nine years old and jaw surgery at 17 years old. Her baby sister will also have to go through the same operations.

Despite all of this, Amy is a happy, bossy little girl who is full of beans, loves being outside and adores bouncing on her trampoline.

I am very positive about the future and want Amy to be happy, have a good job, get married and have children. My parents were wrongly told that I would never walk or talk and that I would be sent away to a special school. I am determined to show my children that they can have a full and happy life.

Thanks to the money raised by Jeans for Genes this year a film will be produced for children living with Treacher Collins, to help them deal with bullying and isolation and show them that by coming to terms with their diagnosis they do not have to give up on their dreams.

Thank you so much for the difference you have made to families with all kinds of genetic disorders by taking part in Jeans for Genes Day this year. If you would like to help more children, like Amy and Laura, please make a donation.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas.

Rebecca Cornell
Mum and Jeans for Genes supporter

Jeans for Genes Jean-ius quiz at Kettners

Last week, together with our friends at Kettners champagne bar, we held our very glamorous ‘Jean-ius pub quiz’! First up we would like to say a huge thank you to our celebrity quiz masters TV presenter Konnie Huq & Nick Ede.

Our friends at Kettners were the perfect hosts making the brilliantly blue Jean Genie cocktail. £1 of which came directly to Jeans for Genes.

Fantastic raffle prizes were donated including:

Nokia 700 smart phones, dinner for two at Kettners, a pair of Monkee Genes jeans, a Benefit cosmetics goody bag, a Biscuiteers biscuit tin, an Organic Surge goody bag, an opportunity to go backstage at OK! TV with presenter Nick Ede.

The quiz was a roaring success raising over £2,000 for our charity plus coverage in OK! magazine and support from some fantastic quiz teams, including Nokia UK, Nat Mags, Miss Jones, Avery, Barclays Corporate, Saffreys Champness and Eden Can Can. And not forgetting personalities from the X Factor and Made in Chelsea. What a night!

To hold your own quiz and raise even more money for Jeans for Genes contact Ruth@jeansforgenes.com

Jamie Lomas poses in spray-on Jeans for Genes!

Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas is here to persuade you to take part in Jeans for Genes Day on Friday 7 October!

We have spray-painted jeans on Jamie as a special treat for all our supporters, you simply have to wear your own jeans and make a donation!

You can read more about Jamie’s support in Kym Marsh’s column in this week’s New! Magazine.

Jeans for Genes at the Office* show

Thank you to everyone who came to visit us at the Office* show last week at London’s Earls Court. Jeans for Genes were the official charity partner of the show for the second year running and once again it was incredibly successful show and after party!

Our fabulous interns were on hand to bucket shake around the show, collecting over £350, a big thank you to everyone who donated.

A huge thank you to our good friends at Nail Rock who were at our stand offering free denim manicures to everyone who signed-up to run a Jeans for Genes Day in their office.

And a final thank you to the Office*show team for all their support and for all the hard work they put in to make the show such a success. We’re looking forward to next year already!

Jeans for Genes at the 5k!

A huge well done and thank you to everyone who took part in the 2011 Adidas Women’s 5k Challenge on Sunday in aid of Jeans for Genes.

And a BIG thank you to our patron denim boutique owner Donna Ida who personally recruited a team of 130 women to run for our charity, including journalists from Marie Claire, Vogue and Tatler, as well as the TV presenter Donna Air. Donna’s team has so far raised a staggering £45,000 for Jeans for Genes, and the donations are still rolling in! You can still sponsor Donna at: www.justgiving.com/TeamDonnaIda

All of our runners enjoyed a fabulous post-race picnic courtesy of our sponsors Marks and Spencer, Love Bakery and Hoxton Gin.

Don’t miss out, join the Jeans for Genes running team in 2012, find out more at: http://www.jeansforgenesday.com/otherwaystohelp/run

Jeans for Genes Day 2011 launches with star-studded party!

Jeans for Genes Day 2011 officially launched with a star-studded party at gorgeously glamorous Kettner’s in the heart of London’s Soho.

Hosted by Jeans for Genes patron and OK! TV presenter Nick Ede, our guests included Kelis, Nikki Grahame, Michelle Heaton, Josie Gibson, Andrea McLean, Arlene Phillips, Lizzie Cundy and TOWIE’s Gemma Collins.

Champagne from Nicholas Feuillatte was flowing along with bright blue, ‘denim’ inspired cocktails whilst chart topping band PARADE provided an exclusive acoustic performance around the piano. Our official party sponsor Nokia provided the fun factor with a photo booth and NAIL ROCK was on hand to supply exclusively designed denim nail wraps. Biscuit design specialists Biscuiteers provided delicious ‘jeans on sticks’ for guests, plus each guest walked away with an exclusive goody bag full of treats.

Some of our favourite pictures from the Nokia photo booth. To see all the photo booth fun visit our Facebook page!

What a great night! Grab a copy of this week’s OK, Closer, NOW & Star magazine to see the highlights from the party or you can see all the photos from the event & the amazing press coverage it received in our Facebook album.

Join our fabulous fundraisers!

Across the UK, our fantastic fundraisers will wear their jeans, dust off their tutus, bake a load of cakes, wax every hair and generally pull out all the stops on Friday 7^th October to change the lives of children affected by genetic disorders.

We want you to join in the fun on Friday 7^th October, national Jeans for Genes Day – to get your free fundraising pack, stuffed full of posters; fundraising ideas, stickers and a collection box just click here!