MACMILLAN Cancer Support in Redditch is appealing for help to smash a £1m fund-raising milestone.
So far the Redditch & District Committee of the big-hearted charity has raised a staggering £995,000 since its formation 25 years ago and its goal is to top £1m with the help of a fund-raising concert on Saturday, October 6.
For many years, from retirement until her death in 2016, the committee was led by Ida Parkinson, the first ever Macmillan Nurse in Worcestershire.
Daughter Wendy Thompson joined the committee last year to carry on that legacy.
The charity funds around 30 posts in Worcestershire, with nurses specialising in care for lung cancer, skin cancer, gynaecology, chemotherapy, head and neck and palliative (end of life) care, as well as other services.
Their two most recent posts in Worcestershire are an Immunotherapy cancer nurse specialist and a cancer nurse specialist for advanced prostate cancer.
With the number of people living with cancer in Worcestershire set to more than double in less than 12 years, the need has never been greater.
Macmillan also has four information support centres in hospitals in Redditch, Worcester and Kidderminster, giving free information and support. Each costs around £52,000 a year to run.
Macmillan Cancer Support does not receive government funding so it relies on donations to fund its local services.
Last year, Macmillan awarded grants totalling almost £87,000 for people living with cancer in Worcestershire who were struggling financially and Macmillan’s Citizens’ Advice Benefits Team secured a staggering £2.4m of unclaimed benefits for people living with cancer across the county who did not know they were entitled to benefits.
For the fund-raising concert the committee has teamed up with top locally-based choir Tarantara who will perform a varied programme at Trinity High School. Tickets, £10, are available from The Music Shop in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre behind Primark.
