Cystic Fibrosis Trust stands by its link with Fungus the Bogeyman
Howard Lake | 8 December 2004 | News
The Daily Telegraph reports that some sufferers of cystic fibrosis have criticised the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s use of cartoon character Fungus the Bogeyman in its fundraising as “grossly insensitive”.
The issue has come up several times on the charity’s Web discussion forum, and there has been heated debate. The link with Raymond Briggs’ character Fungus and the excess mucus suffered by people with cystic fibrosis was intended to be light-hearted, but some sufferers have not approved of this approach.
A spokesman for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust explained: “We are working with Fungus as a fundraising opportunity. The partnership aims to help raise funds towards the gene therapy research, which is the major hope for an effective treatment for cystic fibrosis.
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“We continue to listen to CF sufferers views – the vast majority we have spoken to welcome this opportunity to raise funds. We hope that Fungus, who has been loved by many for the last 25 years including children with CF, will help us raise valuable extra income for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.