Kennedy’s Pharmacy charity

Cathy Powell, Jaimie Welsh and Amy Thompson from Action Cancer NI receiving a cheque from Patrick Kennedy on behalf of the staff and customers of Kennedys Pharmacy, Rasharkin and Dunloy. IONBM16-15 S

Pharmacist, Patrick Kennedy said: “We are often asked to countersign Passport and Driving Licence applications and although we do not make a charge for this, we collect any donations offered to give to a chosen charity each year.

“Most people do offer a small donation and these mount up over the year.

“Until a number of years ago, we also gave Christmas presents of biscuits or chocolates to business customers and working contacts. We realised that many workplaces had a “mountain” of biscuits and sweets in their tea-room at the start of every New Year, at the very time when people were trying to turn over a new leaf with regard to their eating habits.

“Therefore we decided to stop this practice and to also give this money to charity. We then totalled these monies and rounded it up to reach the grand total this year of £500.

“Each year we choose a different charity and this year we have chosen a very worthy charity, Action Cancer NI.

“With this money, we initially booked the Action Cancer Big Bus to come one day each to Rasharkin and Dunloy. Such was the high demand for the bus in the North Antrim area that Action Cancer were able to bring the bus for a further two days”.

Sean Conlon, the Big Bus Co-ordinator for Action Cancer said: “We are very grateful to all the staff and customers at Kennedy’s Pharmacy for their donation to Action Cancer. Donations such as this help us to bring Big Bus to local communities throughout Northern Ireland.

“The Big Bus provides two services which are available to book. If you are a women aged 40-49 or over 70 you are eligible to make an appointment for breast screening on the unit. The charity is the only place in Northern Ireland for women outside of NHS age range to avail of a breast screening for free so this is a great opportunity. The screening takes only a few minutes and for the majority of women provides peace of mind.

“Secondly MOT health Checks are open to all regardless of age and gender and they are a great way to get a current picture of your health. The check takes about 20 minutes.

“Call Action Cancer on 9080 3344 or visit www.actioncancer.org to make your appointment for either service”.