Illuminated daffodils at Belfast Castle launch Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal
Press release published
Terminal illness charity Marie Curie has unveiled a beautiful ‘Garden of Light’ at Belfast Castle today to mark the launch of the charity’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal – the charity’s biggest fundraising drive which takes place every March.
The unique installation which overlooks the best views in the City features 300 lit daffodils – each one representing someone affected by terminal illness who will be helped by Marie Curie in Northern Ireland this March. The lit daffodils demonstrate the light that the nurses bring to terminally people across Northern Ireland, even in the darkest hours.
Gary Hunter, from Comber helped launch the Garden of Light with Marie Curie Registered Nurse Tracey McWilliams from the Belfast Hospice. Gary was diagnosed with Leukaemia (an incurable blood cancer) in 2008 and in 2009, he was then diagnosed with Transitional Cell Carcinoma, which is an aggressive urological cancer. Gary recently graduated from Queens University with a Masters in Creative Writing and as a former Journalist; he says his life has changed greatly since his diagnosis:
“Going from working in frantic, high-pressure media environments, where I was always working to urgent deadlines, my life these days seems to revolve around hospital appointments, scans, blood-tests and review clinics.
“If there’s anything positive in having cancer, I’ve found that you meet many wonderful and inspiring people – in the healthcare professions and in organisations like Marie Curie. I attend Marie Curie Day Therapy once a week and the difference it makes to the lives of those of us living with life-limiting conditions is remarkable.
“It’s great to have the Garden of Light in Belfast – it’s a wonderful way to represent the nurses and the light that Marie Curie brings to people. I wear my daffodil with pride that I’m helping Marie Curie reach more people like my family and I.”
Visitors will also be able to leave behind a memory to a loved one at the Garden of Light - by writing a message on a daffodil sticker and placing onto a ‘Memory Wall’.The Garden of Light is free to visit and will remain at Belfast Castle until 10am on Monday 5 March.
For this year’s Great Daffodil Appeal Marie Curie is asking people in Northern Ireland to raise £240,000. The charity is also looking for people to give two hours of their time to support the appeal, particularly on 24 March when volunteers will be out in Belfast city centre asking for donations in return for daffodil pins.
Currently 1 in 4 people who need palliative care in Northern Ireland are not accessing it – that represents nearly 3,000 people. Every penny raised throughout March helps fund crucial hours of care at home and in Marie Curie Hospices for people living with a terminal illness in Northern Ireland.
Tracy McWilliams works as a Registered Nurse at the Marie Curie Belfast Hospice. She said:
“I enjoy helping patients with their symptoms and providing support to both patients and their families in a time of need. My aim to make patients and families as comfortable as possible and most importantly, feel at home in our care.”
To find out more about Belfast’s Marie Curie Garden of Light visit mariecurie.org.uk/belfastgardenoflight or search #GardenofLight
ENDS
Notes to editor
For more information, please contact Caroline McIlwain, Marie Curie PR & Communications Officer on 07809 585 990
Notes to Editors
The Great Daffodil Appeal
The Great Daffodil Appeal is Marie Curie’s biggest annual fundraising campaign and encourages everyone to give a donation in return for a daffodil pin during March. Money raised helps Marie Curie care and support people living with a terminal illness and their families. Daffodil pins are available from volunteers across the country and in Superdrug, Spar and Poundworld stores. To donate £5, text DAFF to 70111 (Texts cost £5 plus your standard network rate. 98% of your donation is received by Marie Curie)
For more information call 0800 304 7025 or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil
Marie Curie – care and support through terminal illness
Please note – we are now called ‘Marie Curie’ (not Marie Curie Cancer Care). Marie Curie is the UK’s leading charity for people with any terminal illness. The charity helps people living with a terminal illness and their families make the most of the time they have together by delivering expert hands-on care, emotional support, research and guidance. Marie Curie employs more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, and with its nine hospices around the UK, is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
For more information visit www.mariecurie.org.uk or call the Marie Curie Support Line free on 0800 090 2309 for confidential support and information on all aspects of terminal illness.