THE Ilkley fundraising committee for Macmillan Cancer Support visited the Macmillan Support Centre at Shipley as it celebrated its best fundraising year to date and an exciting announcement.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford and Ilkley resident, Councillor Mike Gibbons, joined the committee on the visit to the busiest Macmillan Support Centre outside London.

The centre at Shipley, on the banks of the river Aire, is home to the Cancer Support Line 0800 808 0000, the welfare rights team, the Macmillan grants team, the financial guidance and advocacy team and the fundraising support centre for the UK.

Chris Martinez, chairman of the Ilkley fundraising committee for Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “The entire office is funded almost entirely donations and so it wouldn’t exist without the help that people and organisations provide and we thank those locally for the support they give us in our fundraising efforts.”

During 2014 the Ilkley fundraising committee raised a total of £20,700 for Macmillan, and Chris hailed it as the best year yet.

She added: “I wish to thank the people of our town and its surrounding area for their generous support that has enabled us to raise this magnificent sum. “This is especially appreciated as until now we have not had a Macmillan presence in the valley. “However, this is all about to change as we have the exciting news that our Clinical Commissioning Group has agreed to Macmillan adopting the 15 oncology nurses at Airedale Hospital, at their request. “In addition, Macmillan will recruit and fund a further nurse specialist and a manager to support patients post treatment and help them regain their lives.

“This is truly wonderful news and means patients in the Aire and Wharfe valleys, extending into the Dales, may benefit from Macmillan’s expertise without necessarily having to travel to Leeds, Bradford or Harrogate.”

The local committee has a busy year ahead with its regular quiz night at Ilkley Playhouse on Thursday, March 12, the annual Fashion Show spectacular at the Craiglands Hotel on Thursday, April 30, and the popular Luncheon Club that meets also at the Craiglands Hotel once a month. All these and other events can be found on leaflets placed in Ilkley Post Office. Macmillan Cancer Support can help with all the things that people affected by cancer want and need. The charity also funds nurses and other specialist health care professionals and builds cancer care centres.

Call the Cancer Support Line on 0800 808 0000 or visit macmillan.org.uk.