Macmillan Cancer Care has partnered with the Australian fundraising campaign, Dry July, to launch Go Sober for October in the UK.

Much like the Dryathlon which Cancer Research UK ran in January, Macmillan through Go Sober is challenging people to raise money by giving up alcohol for the month and getting their friends and family to sponsor them. So far £62,000 has been raised and just over 8,500 people have signed up.

A Go Sober for October website enables people to sign up, either as a team or an individual, and create a sponsorship page. The site also features a number of resources to support abstainers, and leader boards for the most raised by individuals, teams and companies.

Fundraisers can also buy, or ask others to buy for them, a £15 golden ticket entitling them to an alcoholic treat. This indulgence was something also available to Dryathlon participants.

Dry July was founded in 2008 and since then has raised $11m in Australia. A Macmillan spokeswoman said: “We have been in discussion with the Dry July team for over a year and we’re all very excited to be bringing the idea over to the UK.”

Cancer Research UK ran a similar alcohol-abstinence challenge in January, with Dryathlon raising nearly £4m from 35,000 participants in its first year. Alcohol Concern runs a similar event, Dry January, which attracted 4,176 abstainers in January 2013.  

Go Sober for October is the third mass participation event that Macmillan has launched this year. It raised £1.25m from It’s A Really Good Night In event that was held in April, and is designed as a companion to its Coffee Morning event. The charity also launched a schools event, Dress Up and Dance, in March that ties in with the primary school PE, PSHA ad science curriculum.

Macmillan’s flagship fundraising event, the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning raised £15m in 2012 - £5m more than the previous year. The 2013 event takes place on 27 September.