Maggies Centre Dundee

Wed, Oct 19th 2022 at 12:50 pm - 2:00 pm

Annie Long showed all the wonderful care offered by Maggies

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The speaker was Annie Long, fundraising manager for the Maggie Centre in Dundee, who spoke of Maggie Centres' founder, Maggie Keswick Jencks, who used her own experience of cancer to create a new type of cancer care. Maggie’s idea was that nobody diagnosed with cancer should lose the joy of living in the fear of dying. Maggie’s is a charity offering free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer, their family and friends, which has now grown into a network of centres built beside NHS hospitals across the UK. Hospitals are often seen as very clinical but the Maggie centres are built in such a way that the building and the landscape add to the wellbeing of the cancer sufferer. Architect Frank Gerry designed Maggie’s Dundee as a reaction against the institutional environment of hospitals, creating a friendlier place for individuals to deal with cancer. The building resembles in part a Scottish Croft and is appropriate to the Scottish setting. The centre in Dundee has a drop-in facility and no appointments are needed. Visitors will be warmly welcomed and have the opportunity to talk with cancer support specialists plus a volunteer psychologist and a benefits expert for helpful advice. In 2021 over 15,000 people visited Maggie’s Dundee (around 50 people per day). It costs £2,400 for a centre to operate for one day and Maggie’s Dundee relies entirely on voluntary donations; it is anticipated that it will cost £610,000 to keep the doors open in 2022. The fundraising team are proactive in generating income for the centre while volunteers are vital to running the centre and hosting events. Volunteers make new friends, learn a new skill and, most importantly, have fun. The centre offers a varied programme of weekly classes, support groups and workshops, all of which help to reduce stress in cancer sufferers. There is also now an online service which is invaluable for people who would find it difficult to visit the Centre. Alan Constable gave the vote thanks thanking Anne for her very interesting and thought-provoking talk.