Nurse raises nearly £1,500 for people with cancer

Sara Handley with Louise Lynch, Massimo Picariello, Bridget Croney, Samantha Weldon, Michael Stewart, Wayne Leahair, Steven Ronan and Greg McFaul

Sara Handley, a District Nurse for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, worked with a group of friends to organise a festive fundraiser in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Over 100 people attended the event on Saturday 28 December, at Rochdale’s Catholic Club. The event was held in memory of the group’s friend, who died from cancer in 2009, aged only 35 years. Poignantly, during her six year battle with the disease, she was cared for by the Oldham West District Nursing Team, which is proudly led by Sara.

Party-goers enjoyed a wealth of festive fun, including a raffle, blind auction and karaoke competition and were entertained by DJ Mark Hamner and a song and dance performance by Claire and Natalie from Dream World Wide.

Following Sara’s tireless efforts to drum up support, the fundraiser received overwhelming support from local, regional and even international businesses. Key highlights included an all expenses corporate VIP package for a premiership match at Manchester City Football Club, donated by P&L Joinery; around £1,000 worth of products, donated by Microsoft; a signed photograph donated by former Manchester United and England player Paul Scholes and another donated by professional boxer Ricky Hatton; a signed 2013 squad card, donated by Manchester United; a photo-shoot, complete with hair and makeover, donated by local company ‘Photography by Karl’ and worth around £200; and a one of a kind animated sketch of a brand new TV
show due to launch in 2014.

Speaking on behalf of the fundraising group, Sara Handley said: “The death of our friend has deeply affected all of us, so we wanted to do something special in her memory.”

“The evening was amazing and the overwhelming generosity of everyone involved has left us speechless.

“I would like to thank everyone who attended or supported the event, as we couldn’t have achieved success without them.”

The event money raised will go to Macmillan, which provides vital support to people who are affected by cancer. This includes Oldham’s Macmillan 1-1 support team, which provides dedicated information and support to local people.

Bev Melia, Pennine Care Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care, manages the Macmillan 1-1 Support Pilot Team. She said: “On behalf of the Macmillan 1-1 Support Team, I would sincerely like to thank the organisers and all who attended the event for making it a tremendous success.”

People can still contribute to the Macmillan fundraiser by visiting:

http://justgiving.com/Sara-Handley