Dundee’s Olympic athlete Liz McColgan is leading from the front again heading a campaign to raise £500,000 for a children’s cancer charity.
She has been named patron of Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukaemia (TCCL) and made clear she will be very involved in the charity’s projects.
In spring the charity will formally launch a campaign to raise £500,000 to build and run a holiday home in the area for families with a child being treated for cancer or leukaemia.
“There are holiday homes elsewhere but nothing locally,” said Liz, who has a long association with leukaemia research charities.
“The problem you have got just now is that if you have a sick child, you want to be close to family and your support system.”
She added, “A lot of people won’t necessarily take up the offer of a holiday home because they have got to go away out of the area.
“More families would be happy to use a holiday home in this area because they want their doctors and nurses and support network on hand.
“It would be very well used because it is needed. There would not be a problem of it lying empty.”
Ninewells Hospital paediatric oncology nurse Gaye Steel said there are between 10 and 25 cases of childhood cancer diagnosed each year, in addition to those already diagnosed and going through treatment programmes.
She is supporting the campaign to create a holiday home locally for these children and their families.’Continuous fund-raiser’While Liz said she didn’t want to limit the fund-raising, pointing out that even after the premises are established, there will be ongoing running costs, Gaye was more forthcoming.
“I think we are looking at half a million pounds initially,” she said, adding it would cost tens of thousands of pounds a year to keep the place going and provide family holidays.
Liz hopes that adding her name to the campaign will help pull in donations.
“The whole idea of me being involved was to try to encourage people to make donations so the charity can deliver a respite holiday home in the Tayside area for local families.”
She added, “It’s not just as easy as building the house. We need a continuous fund-raiser to maintain the facility and give the families the support they need.”
Gaye said, “We hope through Liz’s contacts and travels she will spread the word far and near so that the good works TCCL does supporting children and families will reach as wide an audience as possible.”
Liz said donations other than cash were needed, adding, “Any donation will be kindly accepted.
“A field would be good to build the place on.”
The charity’s major event will be a Black Diamond Charity Ball in the Apex Hotel next May, with Liz in attendance.