Volunteers sought for support group

MacMillan Support Group Oldham

Oldham has a new Marie Curie support group dedicated to raising funds for the cancer care charity.

The group, made up of 10 local people, meets every month at the North Chadderton Social and Bowling Club on Broadway.

New chairman Frank Dobson is keen to get more new members and says they are welcome even if they can only spare a couple of hours at a time.

Marie Curie nurses help people with cancer to die with dignity in their own homes, and supports patients’ families. The charity also runs nine hospices and a research institute.

The Oldham group formed in the summer and as well as organising supermarket collections, collection boxes and raffles, they will also be responsible for next year’s daffodil collection in March, selling flower badges featuring the charity’s symbol.

Money raised is sent to Marie Curie and then distributed back to areas such as Oldham, to support local nurses such as Oldham’s Nora Baxendale.

Mr Dobson, from Chadderton, is a retired van sales and delivery driver, who got involved in the charity when he took part in a sponsored abseil.

He said: “It snowballed from there. That was five or six years ago and I’ve carried on doing things like that.”

Planning

The group is a mix of people and ages, including those who have lost a husband, wife or relative and benefited from Marie Curie’s help.

Appealing for more Oldham volunteers, he added: “We have Christmas collections coming up and we will soon start planning for next year when the daffodil boxes go out.

“We need people to take them out to all the shops and businesses which sell them, and we also need people to collect outside supermarkets.

“They may only be able to give a couple of hours, but all support is very welcome.”

He is available on 0161-678 2472 or 07989-919552.