It’s 1992. John Major occupies No 10, Liverpool are FA cup winners, Aladdin hits the Box Office and Boyz II Men have come to the end of the road. Somewhere in Dorset, a keen CGD Society volunteer – Rosemary Rymer – has an in-jeanious idea and ‘Jeans for Genes’ is formed.
Over its duration, with oversight from CGDS, the Jeans for Genes fundraiser has been run by several charities and organisations – all with the same goal in mind; to raise awareness of genetic conditions and support essential groups providing services, support and programmes for families living with genetic conditions.
In 2021, we, CGDS evolved ‘Jeans for Genes Campaign’ into a charity in its own right with a bold mission : we wanted to be the UK’s largest fundraiser and funder of genetic condition charities and projects. As stewards of the latest stage of this amazing legacy, the new charity was established and raring to go.
Unfortunately, in spite of careful planning, we could not have foreseen a series of unpredictable events – including COVID, a cost-of-living crisis and a recession affecting our plans. We now find ourselves in a position where we have to make critical decisions.
We love ‘Jeans for Genes’ as much as you. As a result, in order to safeguard the future value of the campaign and ensure as much as possible reaches the people who we are set up to support, the genetic community, we have taken the decision to close this independent charity and return the Jeans for Genes campaign, along with its history and heritage to our parent company, CGD Society.
We do this to allow the spirit, community, joy and inclusivity of Jeans for Genes to continue. We’ve seen you jump into your jeans, dance in denim, give talks, share posts, wear t shirts in schools, workplaces and communities – all across the UK. We know what it means to you – it’s meant the same to us and we are passionate about what the campaign enables the genetic community to achieve. Together, we make a positive impact across many organisations that work at community level for families affected by genetic conditions.
As Jeans for Genes the charity itself wraps up, we pass the flaming denim torch to CGD Society to enable the Jeans for Genes campaign to further develop. With CGD Society at the helm and your continued support. we have no doubt it will continue to be a joyful, celebratory, denim beacon for good and we thank you for your continued support.
#TeamDenim always