Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Kind Frankie collects over £1k for Maggie’s
An Airdrie man has helped collect more than £1000 for Maggie’s Lanarkshire to say thanks for support received by the cancer caring centre.
Frankie Burns is a community volunteer for the charity, dropping off and picking up donation cans at shops around Monklands.
He first used the centre, in the grounds of Monklands Hospital, after being diagnosed with a haematological cancer two years ago and wanting to find support for son Alex.
The 10-year-old took part in the kids’days and men’s breakfast, and Frankie said:“Maggie’s Centre reassured my son that everything was going to be OK and the treatment was going well.
“Maggie’s welcomed my son in and gave him hope that everything would be fine – it works because it’s a little bit of heaven and earth, a safe place for me to be myself and a place I can show my true emotions.”
The Airdrie centre, which provides practical, emotional and social support for those with cancer and their loved ones, is now seeking more community collection volunteers – email lanarkshirefundraising@ maggiescentres.org or call 01236 771191 for more information.
Meanwhile, the local Maggie’s is also launching a series of new workshops addressing the impact of cancer on relationships, thanks to support from the People’s Postcode Lottery.
The first, entitled supporting and communicating with children, takes place on November 5 at 11.30am; while the other sessions – developed to reflect issues commonly raised by centre visitors – cover relationships in times of uncertainty; when a patient’s body has changed; starting a new relationship; and talking with medical and nursing teams.
Lanarkshire centre head Lorrie Forsyth said:“Our relationships workshops are an incredibly important addition to our programme of support, and I’d like to thank players of People’s Postcode Lottery for making it happen.
“Relationships play such an important role in our lives, and all relationships – with your children, a significant other or yourself – are hugely impacted by a cancer diagnosis.
“To be able to access substantial psychological support to navigate the issues that arise will make a tremendous difference to those trying to live as best a life as they can with cancer.”
Email lanarkshire@ maggiescentres.org for more details on the new sessions.