Melksham charity raises £6,000 in six months

MELKSHAM Cancer Research UK’s fundraising has reached new heights following a silent auction and collection at Sainsbury’s. 

A collection was held at Sainsbury’s which saw £567.20 raised, making the total in the past six months swell past the £6,000 mark.

Marie Bucknell-Smith the chair of the group said, “We would like to thank Sainsbury’s and the local community who generously donated at our recent  Sainsbury’s collection, it was a great success. We met and talked to so many lovely people, some of whom shared their personal experiences of surviving cancer and recognised that without the good work by Cancer Research UK they would not be survivors.

“We are never ceased to be amazed by the generous people of Melksham who have helped us to raise over £6,000 for Cancer Research UK in just six months. Recent statistics tell us that now one in two people will be affected by cancer during their life time and it’s so important for us to keep raising money to help further research. £6,000 could cover 12 months’ running expenses for a clinical trial investigating hormone therapy to improve the treatment of prostrate cancer.”

Prior to the collection, the charity held a silent auction for tickets to meet singer Peter Andre. This was won by chair, Marie Bucknell-Smith, and another member of the charity, Liza Pinching, who entered a combined bid.

Marie said, “Liza and I had a lovely time meeting Peter Andre, he’s such a lovely genuine guy! We talked to him about Melksham and told him about the group’s fund raising for Cancer Research UK. He said “You’re doing a great job ladies, keep up the good work” before kissing us on the cheek!

“I gave him a letter that I’d written about our generous community and our group who are all working very hard  raising funds and implementing ideas for future fund raising events.

“Having Melksham written on our T-shirts also brought people over to talk to us who turned out to be from either Melksham, Bowerhill or Corsham, each offering their support to the group which was really heart warming. We also met Hayley and Joanne from Eye 4 media in Bowerhill, two lovely ladies who offered to support us and are now designing a poster for our Autumn Party Night in October which we hope lots of people will come along to and enjoy a fun evening and help us raise further funds for Cancer Research UK.

“As a group we are constantly touched by the kindness, support and generosity we receive from our community. Thank you Melksham – we couldn’t do this without you!”