Darren's Mission To Raise Thousands for Marie Curie
November 27, 2009
A father of one from Newcastle has raised nearly £11,000 for charity after his mum was diagnosed with cancer.
Darren Tait, 39, has already raised £7,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care and has now been nominated as charity champion for North East electrical and home furnishing retailer Buy As You View.
The father to nine-year-old Daniel has now raised another £1,800 through a golf day at Ryton Golf Club where 15 teams of golfers competed in aid of charity for Marie Cancer Care. This is being match funded by Buy As You View to reach a grand total of £3,600.
Darren, who is Buy As You View’s area manager in Northumberland, started fundraising after being touched by the work of Marie Curie when his mother Dorothy fell ill with terminal breast cancer. He said: “For the last three years, my mum has been going to the day centre at the Marie Curie hospice in Newcastle. It’s a place where people with cancer can go for the day for support, physiotherapy, complementary therapies, or just to talk about any issues they have.
Recently my mum has had to stay in the hospice for up to a few weeks at a time for respite care and they really have taken care of her and it’s because of the work they do that I wanted to get involved in fundraising for them. “Over the last three years I’ve now raised nearly £11,000 for Marie Curie, it’s a fantastic charity. It’s amazing how much difference even one pound makes, you think a pound is nothing but it really does count. “Marie Curie allows people who are dying to be able to stay at home during that tragic time. For a nurse to spend an hour in someone’s home and let them die in dignity with their family and friends around them costs just £20. That’s nothing compared to what it can bring that individual and their loved ones.
My mum really appreciates how much Marie Curie has done for her and raising money to help their work is the least that I could do.” The charity golf day was the first event Darren has organised since being named Buy As You View’s charity champion in the North East as part of their commitment to support its employees’ fundraising in the local community. John Smith, Marketing Director for Buy As You View, said: “Darren has shown his outstanding commitment to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care which provides a vital service in the local community. “Darren organised the event himself and has put in so much effort. He is very deserving of the title of charity champion and we are happy to match fund this event for such a worthy cause.”