Tesco donation takes Daisy Appeal closer to fundraising target

Sharon Jackson (left), Lead Manager of Tesco in Beverley, pictured presenting the cheque for £1,000 to Daisy Appeal Fundraiser Claire Levy

A CHARITY which is campaigning to raise £8.5m to provide a Molecular Imaging Research (MIR) Centre at Castle Hill Hospital is thanking Tesco and its customers after receiving a donation from the supermarket’s in-store fundraising initiative.

The Daisy Appeal was presented with a cheque for £1,000 donated from the Tesco Community Grants fund, which was previously called Tesco Bags of Help and funds good causes across the UK.

The money was awarded by the Tesco store in Morton Lane, Beverley, with donations also being made to Beverley RUFC and the Re-volution charity.

Since 2016 the supermarket has supported over 36,000 community groups with more than £85m in grants, helping to fight holiday hunger, tackle mental health, support young people, host community events and much more.

The Daisy Appeal has raised a total of £20m since 2000 to fund cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities including the £8m Daisy Appeal Medical Research Centre opened in 2008 and the £4.5m Jack Brignall PET-CT Scanning Centre which opened in 2014.

The charity has already raised £7.5m towards its target for the new centre at Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham. The centre is expected to become operational later this year and will house a radiochemistry and cyclotron unit which will produce radioactive tracers to improve accuracy and detection rates for cancer, heart disease and dementia in Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

Claire Levy, Daisy Appeal Fundraiser, said: “A huge thank you to Tesco Community Grants for the donation of £1,000 to the Daisy Appeal, the money makes such a difference to the charity.

“Every penny really does count as we near our target to complete the radiochemistry and cyclotron unit at Castle Hill Hospital, and we’re grateful to Tesco and to shoppers from across East Yorkshire for their part in making this happen.

“We are still looking to raise £1.5m for the new facility, which will provide the opportunity for patients to receive more personalised care leading to earlier diagnosis and giving them better treatment and quality of life.

“Once the facility is fully functional patients from a wider geographical area will have access to its services. The charity aims to play a leading role in clinically relevant PET-CT research over the next two decades and to show that the technology can be brought to the individual patient, quickly and effectively.”

Dave Ryley, Community Champion at Tesco’s Beverley store, said: “We are delighted that The Daisy Appeal has been awarded £1,000 through our Community Grant scheme. The fact that an amazing £7.5m has already been raised for the appeal highlights the huge amount of respect for Castle Hill Hospital in our local communities.

“We are always encouraging local community groups to apply for a grant from the scheme. Additionally, if you are aware of a local project that you would like to nominate for a grant, please visit our website: tescocommunitygrants.org.uk to do so.”

To find out more about how the Daisy Appeal can help you organise fundraising activities please email Claire Levy at Claire@DaisyAppeal.co.uk