Northamptonshire fundraisers hit £1m milestone for Macmillan

A group of Northamptonshire fundraisers have hit a £1m milestone for Macmillan, helping to fund vital services for people living with cancer across the county.

From funding Macmillan nurses in Northampton, to a new Macmillan Cancer Support Centre in Kettering, the Rose of the Shires fundraising group has made an enormous contribution to local cancer services.

Since it was founded in 1989 by eight friends there have been countless coffee mornings, a fashion show, golf days, sailing evenings and even an abseil down the Northampton Lift Tower – the tallest abseil tower in the world.

Jane Gorham, 58, from Wellingborough, joined the Macmillan fundraising group eight years ago after losing three members of her family to cancer.

Both her mum Hazel and dad Luke were diagnosed with lung cancer and supported by Macmillan, so she wanted to do something to give back and ensure others received the same level of care.

She said: “Macmillan were there for both my parents. They were like a comfort blanket. There was a telephone number you could ring at any time. When they were in the house with my dad just before he died, there was the security of knowing he had the right level of medication. They made him comfortable. We felt we had someone to turn to and reassure us.”

She added: “With my mum it was the organisation side. Macmillan helped organise the hospice visit, arranged for her to go for massages and to talk to other people with cancer experiences. The support was there. There was always someone to speak to and they took away the stress of trying to sort everything out ourselves.”

She also lost her father-in-law to adrenal cancer and has had four friends diagnosed with breast cancer.

Since losing her parents, Jane along with other members of the group have dedicated their time to raising money for local cancer services. Their efforts were even recognised by the Queen who invited two members of the group to her garden party as a thank you.

As the group hit its £1m milestone, Jane said: “I feel proud for the people who founded the committee all those years ago. Wendy, who was one of the founding members and is now in her 80s, still turns up and cooks at our events.”

Tori Harrison, Macmillan’s fundraising manager, said: “The Rose of the Shires fundraising group have made a tremendous contribution to local cancer services over the last 33 years. It’s thanks to their unwavering support that we are able to do whatever it takes for people living with cancer in Northamptonshire and fund vital cancer support services that enable people to live fully with cancer, not just survive.”

To support the committee and help them raise their next million, you can attend a local event, bake a cake for a local coffee morning, hold your own event or consider joining the committee yourself.

The group’s next event will be a Harry Potter Quiz Night on September 30 at Tithe Barn in Wellingborough. Tickets and information about the committee are available from https://macmillan-org.enthuse.com/cf/harrypotterquiz

For support you can call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 which is open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm.