The No Guts No Glory Foundation

About Us

Sander Gerritsen was the founder of the No Guts No Glory Foundation. He had cancer and passed away 13-07-2011. His sister Ellen is the CEO now.

We will continue to use his perseverance, strength and positivity as inspiration. It was his wish that NGNG would continue. So that’s what we do!

NGNG consists of a group of people who are dedicated to making wishes come true to those who need it the most. We organize musical experiences for people of all ages with cancer and their carers. Because we believe in the power of music. Everyone committed to NGNG has experienced first-hand what cancer is and what it can do to someone. To the person who has the disease, but also to their environment.
This means that we are a club of driven people, creating priceless celebratory memories through amazing musical experiences and in addition providing much needed mental health support along the way.

Music as therapy

We have seen that people can end up in isolation after a diagnosis, because work and their social network (partially) disappear. People also don’t want to be ‘the cancer patient’. For that reason we offer support, and we reimburse both music lessons and an instrument. Taking part in music classes is something positive, in contrast to treatments at the hospital. Additionally, it’s often a good coping mechanism. We currently support several people who have received (private) music lessons and an instrument for a year, and the teachers have all been specially selected to teach this group of people.

Wishes during the pandemic crisis

Despite all the covid 19 measures, we managed to make several festivals and concerts possible. This was extremely important, because it involved people who did not have time to wait for the restrictions to be lifted. Priceless memories have been created by allowing people to enjoy live music one more time with their loved ones.

Sometimes someone is too ill to go anywhere. In that case we ensure that musicians come to their home. We also ensure that artists, light and sound technicians, etc. are always paid properly. Especially in this difficult time for the sector.

Pilot NGNG Music Therapy at the Isala Oncological Center

In addition to providing mental health support and making (music) wishes come true, we are currently also setting up a pilot at a hospital in the oncology department. Fortunately, many distractions have been arranged for children in the oncology wards, but there is room for improvement for adults. Research shows that music can really help, so we want to bring music to the hospital. Professional teachers will be hired, who will come to the hospital several times a week to teach music. We will also take care of the purchase of instruments.

Music has a beneficial effect on anxiety, pain and quality of life. Listening to music can positively influence psychological well-being. A cancer diagnosis affects social, physical and emotional well-being, and manifests itself in a variety of emotions including fear, anger, sadness, and guilt. Patients often experience fear of death, short and/or long-term effects of treatment, or disease recurrence.

At the Isala Oncological Center, efforts are made to optimize the quality of life, among other things. The No Guts No Glory Music Therapy can contribute to this. Music can both relax and activate the body. Music bridges the gap to emotions and thoughts by evoking associations and memories. It can offer guidance and support through the (recognizable) structure, melody and rhythm.

We are going to start the pilot this year and the hope and expectation is that this will help patients a lot. If successful, we will do everything we can to ensure that this is implemented in more hospitals.

All our Wish Stories can be found on our (Dutch) website: https://www.stichtingngng.nl/

Our foundation runs entirely on donations.

Thank you for considering supporting No Guts No Glory.

Please support us, by donating and help us give a memory to someone who deserves it. 
Because living is more than being alive!

If you have any questions or want more information in English, feel free to contact us: info@stichtingNGNG.nl

You can also follow us on social media. Please do, and spread the word.