Baxters has raised £117,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, helping support 350 people living with the disease.
The sum raised through soup sales and staff fundraising efforts surpassed the £100,000 target set for its 150th anniversary year and will now fund one Macmillan nurse for 25 months.
Staff at Baxters’ sites across the UK coordinated a range of fundraising activities, from sky dives and bungee jumps to raffles and race night events to help generate funds for the charity. A limited-edition on-pack promotion saw a proportion of sales from its Favourites soups donated to Macmillan.
Furthering its support, Darren Sivewright (pictured), Baxters’ Chief Innovation Chef, dropped off tins of soup and scones made using Baxters’ signature jam for staff at Macmillan’s Information and Support centre at the Western General in Edinburgh. Here patients, families and carers can access expert information about treatment, practical advice and support around living with a cancer diagnosis and signposting onto other services such as benefits advice.
Sivewright met Macmillan Information and Support Service Manager Elaine Gray (pictured centre). She said: “A cancer diagnosis can be devastating and can affect every part of your life, not just your health. We help people to make sense of their diagnosis, guide them through treatment and provide help and support on every aspect of life including physical, emotional and financial.”
Laura Foreman (pictured right), Macmillan Fundraising Manager, added: “We are funded almost entirely by donations, we simply cannot support the growing number of people who need us without the continued generosity of the public and partners like Baxters. We are thrilled that with their help we can continue to support people living with cancer to live life as fully as they can.”
