Care staff’s checkout collection raises funds for cancer charity

GENEROUS supermarket shoppers dug deep to support a Blyth care home’s fundraising campaign for those affected by cancer.

Staff from The Oaks Care Home, on Durban Street, were manning the tills at Morrisons, on Regent Street, with collection buckets for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Shoppers dropped £264 into the buckets for the charity, which the home has been fundraising for over the last year, taking their total to £579 so far.

One of the home’s volunteer collectors was cook Yvonne Gibson, who is also a cancer survivor with first-hand experience of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Yvonne was diagnosed with Stage 4 cervical cancer in 2018. Despite undergoing debilitating treatment, she used her illness to raise awareness of cervical screening by delivering a talk at work during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2019.

During her long-term sick-leave, she also visited the care home on National Hug Day, giving hugs to each of the residents.

Now back at work, Yvonne wanted to help raise funds for Macmillan, providing more than double the hours on the Morrisons tills than any other volunteer.

She said: “It was a real pleasure to help with the collection at Morrisons. Macmillan do so much good to help people with cancer.

“I am completely clear of my cancer now. The tumour has disappeared completely. I’m glad to be back at work and I’m loving life.

“I would just like to add my thanks to my colleagues and the residents at The Oaks for all their support during my treatment and recovery.”

Macmillan Cancer Support is the 2019/20 chosen charity of the Hill Care Group, which operates The Oaks Care Home alongside dozens of others across the north of England.

Ann Mielnik, home manager at The Oaks Care Home, said: “Alongside our sister homes across the North East and wider, we’ve been fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support since mid-2019.

“The Morrisons bag pack was the latest in our fundraising efforts and one of the most successful, generating hundreds of pounds for the charity.

“Our thanks go to the generous shoppers who donated on the day as well as Blyth Morrisons for giving us the opportunity.

“I’d also like to say a personal thank you to all of the volunteers who gave up their spare time to help raise funds for such an important cause, supporting individuals and their families affected by cancer.”