The main charity we are supporting this year is The Blossom Appeal, and at our November meeting the fund’s Community and Events Manager, Brian Taylor, came to update us on the progress of this worthwhile project.

The aim is for every breast care patient to have the best possible experience whether they go to the hospital for mammograms, biopsies or cancer treatment, etc. To this end they are planning to build a £2.5 million modern Breast Care Centre where state-of-the-art care can be delivered to all patients under one roof.

Brian brought with him a lady who has recently been through breast cancer treatment at Ipswich Hospital. She is now clear of the disease and volunteers for the charity as a way of showing her gratitude. One of our members is also a recovered breast cancer sufferer, and she remarked that, when she was undergoing treatment, she did indeed have to visit several different sites for each part of it, which was at times arduous and sometimes inconvenient.

To date, just under half a million pounds has been raised, and although there is still a long way to go, the Blossom Appeal Team are determined to meet their target at some point in the not-too-distant future!

Fund-raising is the mainstay of this project, and basically anything that can make money is being encouraged by the charity team, such as sponsored walks and bike-rides, coffee mornings, garage sales, car boot sales, quizzes, jumble sales – you name it, every little helps!

To donate to this worthy cause simply log on to the Blossom Appeal website to see the different ways in which you can contribute.