Family gets behind Rosemere walk to help charity's depleted funds

Keely Marsland, 43, and Simon Moore, 39, along with children Harvey, 13, Rome, eight, and three-year-old Ada, from Thornton-Cleveleys, responded to the charity’s plea for local

residents to support its ninth annual Walk the Lights.

The fundraising walk usually attracts hundreds of walkers from throughout Lancashire and as far as South Cumbria. But the borough’s move into Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions earlier this

autumn put the walk, an essential fundraiser for the charity, in jeopardy.

Dan Hill, Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s chief officer, said: “We had already had to switch the walk from a mass participation event in which everyone meets and sets off together on a

specified evening to a walk that people could do in their own family bubbles over the period of a fortnight.

“Further Covid rules forced us to consider cancelling the event all together but thanks to local people like Keely, Simon and their children, who came forward to support us, it was able to go

ahead and contribute a not insignificant sum to our depleted accounts, which will help us continue to fund projects to help local cancer patients.”

Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere

Cancer Centre.

The region’s specialist cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre is based at Royal Preston Hospital, and at another eight local hospitals across the two counties, including at Blackpool

Victoria Hospital where it has funded an acute cancer triage unit. The charity funds cutting edge equipment, research, training and other cancer services and therapies that the NHS is

unable to afford.