Special Interest Grants (2008)

• Boerne Cancer Fonden

  To buy a summer house near Aalborg, one of the most beautiful regions in Denmark, for families with children undergoing cancer treatment. The families can use the cottage at the seaside at no cost during summer vacations and spend time together during a challenging and difficult moment in their lives.

• Botswana–Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative Partnership

  To support the Botswana-Harvard School of Public Health in its research efforts. The Botswana-based project is seeking to reduce mother-to-infant HIV infection rates; to determine which drug combinations of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) work best for women with AIDS; to continue research on the design of an HIV vaccine; and to train individuals from Zimbabwe to become AIDS experts. (Over three years)

• Cancer Research UK

  1. To purchase a Micro PET/CT Scanner for the Radiobiology Research Institute in Oxford. The centre was constructed with the aim of becoming a world-wide centre of excellence for radiobiology research and is the first of its kind in the UK. The Micro PET/CT Scanner will advance the understanding of targeted radiotherapy and will also be used to monitor the effectiveness of new radiotherapy techniques. Cancer Research UK is one of the leading cancer research organisations in the world.
  2. To support a breast cancer research project, lead by Professor Carlos Caldas, director of the Cancer Genomics Programme at Cancer Research UK. Sophisticated genetic technologies will be used to study the “molecular signatures” of 2,000 selected breast cancer samples. The project will lead to more specific tailoring of treatment and the development of targeted therapies for specific types of breast cancer. The ultimate aim is to increase the survival rate of breast cancer patients. (Over two years)

• Chain of Hope UK

  To set up, equip and train the staff of the Heart Institute, a cardiac unit which will be attached to the school of medicine at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. To support the aim that the Institute will be able to treat children with cardiovascular diseases in their own country; funding will be used to equip the unit, bear the cost of installation, as well as assure maintenance for the first five years.

• The Courtauld Institute of Art

  To fund the part-time (three days a week) teaching post of Professor Aileen Ribeiro who is a Professor in History of Art at the Institute based in London, and who has been responsible for the Department of History of Dress. The Department was established in 1965 to study the subject within the context of social and cultural history, and to analyse and interpret clothing from visual, documentary and literary sources. (Over two years)

• Duke University

  1. To support five different projects at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort in North Carolina, in the US. The various projects enable the Marine Laboratory to draw a new student pool and thereby improve the level of teaching and the research possibilities of undergraduates, graduates, PhDs and Fellows. The Marine Laboratory and the Center for Marine Conservation aim to address problems on a global scale by incorporating conservation science and policy, and forging international partnerships with researchers, organisations and policy-makers in the US. (Over three years)
  2. To provide support for the emotional well-being and education of hospitalised children at Duke Children's Hospital and University of North Carolina Children's Hospital in North Carolina in the US. The programme "Healing and Hope through Science" engages young patients in activities that nurture their sense of curiosity about nature and science. The programme also covers the educational needs of chronically ill children as well as students who are undergoing physical rehabilitation. (Over three years)

• Good Shepherd Sisters

  To increase the programmatic scope of the Friendship Centre, a community centre for families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the villages of northeast Thailand. The programme is led by the Good Shepherd Sisters with the aim of improving the lives of the most vulnerable and rejected villagers. The project has existed for eight years and with a growing community, more services are being developed to give greater independence and dignity to the participants.

• Habitat for Humanity International

  To participate in the Jimmy Carter Work Project, an international event of Habitat for Humanity International to be held in Mississippi on the Gulf Coast of the US. The event will construct and rehabilitate 60 houses and frame up to 48 more for future building efforts in this region. The event aims to draw attention back to the Gulf by celebrating 1,300 Habitat homes built so far in the hurricane recovery effort.

• IPAS

  IPAS is a US-based organisation working globally to increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, and to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries. The project aims to reach out to local partners in selected communities and provide them with information and knowledge aimed at decreasing unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The core of the project is to build health services, encourage advocacy, extend the learning element and develop partnerships. The focus will be on India, Mexico and South Africa. (Over three years)

• Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust

  To assist the Joy of Living Campaign by covering the expenditure and capital costs of three new Maggie’s Centres by 2011, thereby addressing the needs of cancer patients. The Centres are small, domestic havens and are open to anyone who would like to learn about their own or other cancer, requires information for a friend or a family member, or needs a referral. The focus is on the individual’s needs as a person, not just as a cancer patient. (Over three years)

• Modrehjaelpen af 1983

  To continue counselling services to 5,000 Danish families every year of which 400 families will be enrolled in special programmes where progress is measured in terms of training, education and social networking. To establish two new colleges for young mothers and their children by joining forces with the Danish fund Bikubenfonden and the Christian Association for the Welfare of Children and Young People. Also, to support the opening of new branches in the Baltic region and Poland. (Over three years)

• Musée International de la Réforme

  To expand the existing 20th Century room in the museum in Geneva, Switzerland, and add around 10 new displays covering the development and influence of Protestantism in the US and the growth of Evangelical Protestantism worldwide. The second objective is to build a new room covering the 21st Century which will show Protestantism of the present day and suggest new ways of understanding and interpreting the current state of the Protestant faith. (Over two years)

• Oak Scholarship Trust

  The Oak Scholarship Trust will provide scholarships in Australia to students to obtain higher education and thereby increase their chances of employment. Three new students, who have demonstrated a high level of educational disadvantage and who demonstrate high academic merit are to be selected annually. Indigenous people, migrants, refugees and people with disabilities will be encouraged to participate in the programme, with the long-term aim to break the poverty cycle of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. (Over three years)

• The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts

  To bring the arts, in all its many rich forms, to children living in the UK who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience them. The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts aims through its Start Programme to fund selected arts organisations to offer local school children the chance to see professional productions and exhibitions. It works with both schools and arts organisations to reach out to over 20,000 children at more than 50 venues. (Over three years)

• University of Oxford

  1. To contribute towards the capital cost of the Institute of Cancer Medicine at the University of Oxford in the UK. The Institute is an outstanding GBP 28 million facility that is bringing together over 250 scientists, researchers and clinicians from around the world. The goal is to unite academic research and clinical practice, develop new preventions and treatments and translate them into forms suitable for clinical practice. This multi-disciplinary approach will help answer important questions and thereby improve diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
  2. To attract funding for Leadership Fellows who will be based at the Centre for Tropical Medicine in Thailand, Kenya, Vietnam or in Oxford. The project will attract and foster the most promising postdoctoral scientists working in two research fields of strategic importance: cancer and global health. It will provide funds that are not available from other sources and act as leverage for these researchers to develop a broad funding portfolio with long-term stability. (Over three years)

• The Wellspring Trust, Inc

  To provide sub-grants to a number of projects in Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Cambodia. In each case the objective is to better the lives of the poor, the sick and the socially and physically disabled through education, training and assistance. The Trust supports small organisations and works directly with the local population, aiming to create sustainable structures for the needy.

• World Wide Fund for Nature

  To enable highly committed young people aged between 20 and 27 to have a formative experience of conservation in a developing world context and to enable them to raise awareness about conservation on their return to their home country. Moreover, sustainable resource management requires a range of skills, so whatever professional career participants choose, this experience will be important if they are to become environmental champions thereafter. (Over three years)