Newtownabbey Spar Manager raises over £28,000 for cancer

L-R: Partnerships Manager at Marie Curie Anne Hannon receives the cheque from Natalies mother Irene Cooke, daughter Kirsty Fyffe, partner Ivan Shanley and Spar King's Crescent Store Manager Arlene Simmons. INNT-08-700-con

Store manager of Spar King’s Crescent Arlene Simmons raised a total of £28,215 in memory of her colleague Natalie Cooke.

The pair worked together for seven years at the Spar shop in Rathcoole.

During her illness, Natalie received care from Marie Curie, which was very much appreciated by both her and her family.

In honour of Natalie, Arlene led a fundraising drive which saw over 70 stores in Northern Ireland holding coffee mornings, fancy dress days and bucket collections.

The owners of the Spar and Eurospar franchises in Northern Ireland, Henderson Retail, presented the bumper cheque to the local branch of Marie Curie last week.

Arlene said that she was proud at the amount that she and her colleagues across all the stores were able to raise for such a worthwhile cause.

The funds raised will help support Marie Curie nurses working in Northern Ireland.

Partnerships Manager at Marie Curie Anne Hanna, who received the cheque on behalf of the charity, commented: “Our nurses work night and day, in people’s homes across Northern Ireland, providing hands-on care and vital emotional support.

“We are absolutely delighted to receive this amazing cheque for £28,215 from Henderson Retail.

“This money will allow our wonderful Marie Curie nurses to deliver an amazing 1,410 hours of care to terminally ill people at home or in our Marie Curie hospice, Belfast.

“Sadly, we are still not reaching everyone who needs us so this support is vital and many thanks to all the staff and shoppers of SPAR and EUROSPAR for this huge effort.”

There are more than 120 Marie Curie Nurses working in Northern Ireland, caring for around 2,000 terminally ill people and their families in their homes each year.

Marie Curie’s services are offered free of charge to people with terminal illnesses. The charity needs to raise around £3.5 million a year to fund its hospices and nursing care in Northern Ireland.

To find out more about Marie Curie in Northern Ireland,visit www.mariecurie.org.uk or call 0800 716146.