Pony club raise £8k for cancer charity

Desertmartin Pony Driving Club, in association with Bann Valley Pony Driving Club, raised the much needed cash for ‘Friends of the Cancer Centre’ through a sponsored drive in the summer. The total raised was £8,208.00.

The Club would like to thank all those who supported and contributed to this most worthy fund raising event which also included a ballot and an auction.

Organisers of the event presented the cheque to Coleen Shaw. Director of Friends of the Cancer Centre at a special presentation event in Desertmartin.

She said the money will be a huge boost to the care and comfort of those living with cancer.

Coleen said: “Friends of the Cancer Centre supports cancer patients they enhance the quality of life for patients at the cancer centre at the Belfast City Hospital. So we fund patient comforts, we now do some research and we now also fund clinical nurse specialists to advance treatment for patients and their families.

“One of the lovely things we do, I think, is that we give the families opportunities for complimentary therapies whilst the patients are in the hospital.

The family can received the complimentary therapy as well. So it’s about the whole journey not just the clinical end, so the patient can receive complimentary therapy at their bedside or if they are well enough, go around to the centre and have it.”