£12,000 raised to support The Blossom Appeal
Kathryn Grandon presents the donation to members of The Blossom Appeal fundraising team and breast care team including: director of communications, Rebecca Driver; Breast Care clinical nurse specialists, Harriet Dynevor-Mead Lewis, Ceri Meek and Julie Calcluth; Macmillan lead cancer clinical nurse specialist, Kim Collingridge; Breast Care nurse admin co-ordinator, Laura Southgate; and Sandra Gosney, fundraising manager. Photo: Babergh District Council.
Babergh chairman Kathryn Grandon has presented a cheque for more than £12,000 to her chosen charity the Ipswich Blossom Appeal.
During her term as chairman she hosted a Charity Ball at the Royal Hospital School welcoming almost 200 guests and collected donations for her chosen charity through the chairman’s “JustGiving” page.
These fundraising activities were well supported by residents across the district and councillor Grandon presented a cheque for the value of £12,408 to The Blossom Appeal.
The Blossom Appeal is a fundraising initiative led by Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals’ Charity to create a multi-million pound Breast Care Centre supporting patients and their families, providing a welcoming, modern and tranquil environment during a very difficult and often traumatic period.
The centre, which opened its doors to patients in January 2023, also received NHS funding from East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, who run Ipswich Hospital. The Breast Care Centre was officially opened in March this year.
Councillor Grandon said: “I chose The Blossom Appeal in part to say thank you for the amazing work that the NHS does, but also to raise awareness of the incredible service Ipswich Hospital Breast Care Team offer to families across the county.
“I have first-hand experience of the fantastic care, kindness and expertise offered. They have been and are a real source of support, not just to the women and men facing breast cancer but their loved ones too.
“There are so many different aspects in dealing with and fighting breast cancer and this new breast care centre will support women and men across Babergh and wider Suffolk, by bringing all these different elements of breast care under one roof.”
Sandra Gosney, community fundraising manager for East Suffolk & North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We were thrilled to be selected as the chosen charity for the Babergh District Council Chairman last year. Without the public’s support we wouldn’t have been able to realise our ambition of create a patient-focussed Breast Care Centre. Our thanks to the chairman and her supporters for this generous donation.”
For more information about The Blossom Appeal visit https://www.colchesteripswichcharity.org.uk/appeal/blossom-appeal