Danske Bank raises £383,000 for Cancer Focus

An amazing £383,000 has been raised by Danske Bank staff and customers for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland since January 2011.

Every penny raised goes towards supporting the charity’s Family Support Service. The money raised by Danske Bank has now enabled this vital service to expand, helping even more children and young people in families in Northern Ireland where a parent or grandparent has been diagnosed with cancer.

Joyce Savage, Head of Appeals and Marketing at Cancer Focus, said:

“We would just like to say a big thank you to all Danske Bank’s staff and customers who have donated to numerous fundraising events. Thanks to the continuing support from Danske Bank we’ve been able to extend our Family Support Service, ensuring more families get the support they need immediately.

“In the last year the number of families we were able to help rose from 78 to 84 and the demand for our one-to-one service has risen by 30%.  We have also been able to employ an extra member of staff to help children in the Mid-Ulster area.”

Tony Wilcox, Managing Director of Personal Banking at Danske Bank, who has personally undertaken two cycle challenges as part of the fundraising,   commented: “Our staff and customers can be very proud of the contribution they have made over the last two and a half years towards this fantastic total, which has exceeded all our expectations.

“The money was raised through a whole series of fundraising activities including customer days, coffee mornings and raffles at local branches, staff taking part in marathons and other sporting events and one-off events such as cycle challenges, mountain climbing, cookery demonstrations and a fashion show. We look forward to the next six months of fundraising and hope to reach £400,000 by the end of the year.”

Ivan McMinn, Head of Finance Centres at Danske Bank, has not only come through his own cancer experience, but after returning to work, completed this year’s London marathon raising over £50,000 for the charity. Ivan said: “At the start of the partnership, we pledged to raise £100,000 per year so we are delighted with the present total. The results are testament to the great team effort by the charity who support us in our fundraising activities and there is a genuine enthusiasm from our staff to get involved.”

Cancer Focus is also the chosen charity for the first ever Deep RiverRock Belfast City Half Marathon and Fun Run on September 22. If you would like to take part in aid of the charity go to www.belfastcitymarathon.com and tick the box for Cancer Focus.

For more information about the charity visit www.cancerfocusni.org