COLUMN: £2m milestone for cancer centre appeal

You have raised £2 million of the £2.5 million target.

Even writing those words feels incredible. I remember a very cold, early morning launch at the Proact Stadium in May 2015, where we shared the news about the new centre. In the room, I could instantly feel the passion and community spirit backing.

Since then, we’ve had people push a hospital bed from Dronfield to the Royal, head shaves, restaurants’ customers donating a pound on their bills, companies fundraising, supporters abseiling down very tall buildings, schools fundraising and local Brownies packing bags for us.

Most recently a lovely lady called me – I hope she is reading – and said that this year she hadn’t bought presents at Christmas and that she wanted to donate the money to the appeal. It was a lovely gesture and every single penny really does make the biggest difference.

So, we’ve half a million more to raise. Can we do it? That community spirit I talked about before says we will.

If you would like to support the appeal, why not organise your own event – it could be a concert, quiz, race night, sporting match, karaoke night or more. For more visit macmillan.org.uk.