The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Red army ‘takes over’ mall to help build cancer unit
Friends of Anchor committed to raising £2m for charity
There was a surprise in store for visitors to one of the north-east’s busiest shopping centres at the weekend.
Scores of people dressed in red enjoyed dancing to their own tune at the main entrance to Union Square in Aberdeen in the name of charity.
The silent disco was just one of the attractions at Friends of Anchor’s “takeover” of the mall as it launched its Anchored Together campaign.
The charity, which supports the Anchor cancer unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, is committed to raising £2 million towards a new £32m cancer and haematology centre which is being built at the Foresterhill health campus.
And while the turf has already been cut at the site, the charity will ensure that it is kitted out to the highest possible standard with new equipment, research and teaching facilities, a therapy room, a teenage and young adult room and a coffee lounge.
Among the other activities on offer at Union Square were face painting, a sticker trail and a colouring competition.
There was also a large screen showing a visual fly-through of how the new cancer centre will look.
The charity said yesterday that their event, which ran across Saturday and Sunday, had been a big success.
A spokeswoman said: “It has been a brilliant weekend, we have not been asking for donations, this has been about raising awareness of the work we do.
“It is the biggest campaign we have ever run, we are effectively doubling the money we raise for the ward each year, so that is going to take a lot of generosity and support from the public and local businesses.
“There are about 90 people that have given up their weekend to be here as part of our ‘red army’.
“This project will make a difference well beyond our generation, so it is a legacy of the people that back us now.”
It is estimated that about 65,000 people will use the new centre which is scheduled to open in 2021.