[A] celebration has been held for an 80–year-old charity volunteer and her friends who have raised a fantastic £30,000 for the Oncology Unit at Furness General Hospital (FGH) over the past 15 years.
June Hewitt from Barrow-In-Furness has fundraised for Oncology at FGH for the last 15 years. On June’s 65th birthday, she made her first donation to the Oncology Unit and her kind generosity and passion for fundraising has continued ever since.
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The Oncology Unit at FGH treat between 30-50 patients per day. These treatments range from chemotherapy, to supportive care and outpatient appointments.
At first June and her friends held a tombola and raffle stalls, but more recently they sell hand knitted baby clothes at the main entrance of FGH every third Thursday of the month. To date June and her friends have raised £30,000 for The Bay Hospitals Charity and all the funds raised have benefited the Oncology Unit.
Heidi Bowron, Charity Coordinator at UHMBT said; “I would like to say a huge thank you to June and all of her friends. They have shown fantastic commitment and dedication over the last 15 years. June was a once a patient at the Oncology Unit and felt she want to give something back.
“In order to thank June for her generosity and mark her 80th birthday a small celebration with a beautiful cake took place on 19 July at the Charity and Fundraising Office, FGH, main reception.
Jayne Bickerstaff, Oncology Ward Manager at FGH said; “Thanks to the generosity of June and her friends Oncology Unit at FGH have been able to purchase additional state of the art equipment over the years. In addition it has funded items to improve the overall patient experience such as; a water cooler, magazines and alert cards.
“We are very grateful for the hard work and dedication from June and her friends.”
Aaron Cummins, Chief Executive at UHMBT, added; “It is really important to have the support of incredible fundraisers such as June and her friends. On behalf of UHMBT I would like to them for their commitment and dedication to fundraising. It is the generosity of the local communities that enables the charity to continue to support and enhance the Trust’s services.”
If you would like to support the charity and make a donation, please visit http://www.bayhospitalscharity.org/ or email [email protected].
