The sun is shining, hints of normality are returning and we are all beginning to feel a little brighter. To add to the rejoicing, we celebrated the 72nd birthday of the NHS on 5th July. Did you go outside to join your neighbours for the 5pm clap?
We are so proud of our NHS and later this month, Macmillan Caring Locally will be celebrating its very own birthday. On 25th July, the Macmillan Unit will have been open for 46 years! We have been looking through some fabulous photos from ‘back in the day’ and even the original agreement for the build, detailing the total cost of £125,000 which was raised by our amazing community (including “notable donations of 10p from old age pensioners”)! There are some wonderful images and cuttings from the local newspaper showing the opening of our Mac Unit, Dr Ronald Fisher who founded the hospice and some of the nurses who worked at the Unit in the early days. Our charity, originally named The Macmillan Cancer Trust, has continued to support and fund the delivery of specialist palliative care since 1974 and we are proud to be celebrating 46 years of service to our community. As you will be aware, there are exciting plans for the future of our hospice and we hope to get our Brick by Brick fundraising appeal back on track once the restrictions associated with Covid-19 have been eased. However, regardless of obstacles we have faced and plans ahead of us, our mission has always remained the same: “to support those who are suffering with cancer and other life limiting illnesses where no cure is expected, and to provide help and support for the whole family” and our amazing team continue to do this to the highest of standards. We hope you enjoy the photos and stories we will be sharing on our social media pages in the lead p to our 46th birthday and perhaps you may even fancy indulging in a little tea and cake at home in virtual celebration on 25th July?!
If you are keen to support our heroic team of staff and volunteers and need an excuse to get a bit more active (and burn off the afore mentioned cake), you can join our “Lace Up” challenge! Sign up online to complete a walk, run or cycle of your chosen distance or time (in your garden or on a static exercise machine if you wish) and get fundraising 😊. Registration is done electronically via www.macmillanlocal.org/extended_events/lace-up/ and we’ll send our thank you and your certificate to you via email and medal in the post. Maybe you want to challenge your friends and family too and finally prove who can run the furthest of cycle for longer?? Pop onto our Facebook page for details and sign them up too! Although our usual events are on hold for the foreseeable future due to Covid-19 related restrictions, our fundraising team are still busy planning future events and activities so keep an eye on our social media pages to stay in the know!
On the subject of events and social media, we have some good news for you. Ladies and gentlemen, for one night only our Barry (now, quite the celebrity) is returning for another of his Friday night Quiz Nights!! Yes, just when you thought July could not get any better, on Friday 24th July you can tune into our Facebook Live page for a 1970s themed quiz night in celebration of our birthday. Grab a pen and paper, perhaps a cheeky drink and gather round your screen for what promises to be an entertaining evening. Don’t forget #JuliesLaw and remember, the more donations the more likely Barry is to humiliate himself…. totally worth it, right?!
Please do let your friends and family know about the Quiz Night and Lace Up and ask them to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We have an amazing community of people out there – we want to keep everyone informed about all things MCL and don’t want anyone to miss out on being part of our exciting plans for the future. Until next time, enjoy the weather, stay safe and we look forward to celebrating ‘with you’ soon!
Anyone that wishes to make a donation can do so on our website at www.macmillanlocal.org/make-a-donation and if you haven’t already signed up to our newsletter, you can do so at www.macmillanlocal.org/subscribe. You can also read our appeal for support through the Coronavirus at www.macmillanlocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Covid-appeal-260320.pdf
*Photo: Dr Ronald Fisher (Founder) and Charles Hall (our first Trust Secretary) pictured with one of our original nursing staff.
