Staff at Bank of Scotland in Broughty Ferry have helped Marie Curie’s Spring Clean appeal raise more than £22,350 – enough to fund a community nurse for a full year.
The employees boosted the Courier charity appeal by more than £3,000 after spending their bank holiday weekend clearing out their cupboards.
Susan Millar, a customer advisor at the branch, presented 165 bags of goods bound for the charity’s shop network to Marie Curie patron Petra McMillan.
Petra, who received 580 bags from customers at Jessie’s Kitchen in just three days, said the last-minute deposit from bank staff was a welcome boost and a serendipitous finale to a lockdown initiative which has exceeded all expectations.
The £22,350 raised is enough to pay for 1,117 hours of community care.
‘This will make a huge difference’
Petra says: “We are very grateful to the Bank of Scotland who came forward with this donation and also to Jessie’s customers who in just three days swamped us with some fantastic donations.
“Thanks to them both, we’ve now tipped over the £20,000 mark and that means, at a time when our fundraising has been decimated by the pandemic, we can fund a Marie Curie nurse in our communities for a full year.
“This will make a huge difference to the families we support across NHS Tayside.”
After reading The Courier appeal, Susan, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 and has since undergone a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, contacted Petra with the offer of help. She has since been given the all clear.
Susan says: “Marie Curie is a charity close to my heart as I know the fabulous work it does at the end of life and for terminal illness care. This has been a brilliant appeal and I really hope it can help other families who need the support right now.”
Though the appeal was halted shortly after it began due to lack of storage space and Covid restrictions, Petra is hopeful that one day Dundee will get it’s own dedicated Marie Curie shop.
Petra continues: “It has been an absolutely amazing effort from Courier readers and we’re over the moon.
“The reason I think this appeal has been so popular is that you have to recognise not everyone can donate money to charity. So many people have been financially impacted by the pandemic, but a lot of people still want to support us.
“If this appeal has done anything, it has shown the great affection for Marie Curie and our community willingness to support the charity, our families and our nurses.
“We are always looking for new opportunities and I am hopeful that we’ll be able to fund many more nurses with our own shop one day.”