High flying fundraisers raised £14,000 taking part in Marie Curie Cancer Care’s annual abseil challenge held in Dundee earlier this summer.
Nurses working in communities across Courier Country will be able to provide an additional 700 hours of care to individuals with a range of terminal diagnoses as a result of the abseil at Dundee University on June 1.
Now a firm fixture in the charity’s fundraising calendar, the Marie Curie Daredevil Challenge has raised more than £42,000 for the nursing service since 2011 funding 2,100 hours of care throughout Dundee, Angus, Perthshire and North-East Fife.
Charity patron Petra McMillan, from Carnoustie, who began organising the event in recognition of the care her own mother received before her death in 2009, praised the 70 hardy souls who this year took to the ropes in support of local nurses.
She said: “We very much appreciate the bravery other people show in support of our nursing service and we’re very proud to be able to use that money locally to support families in our community.
“Helping someone who is terminally ill to end their life where they feel most comfortable is an act of humanity that we can all understand and one that we can all support with Marie Curie.”
This year’s abseil was supported by Carnoustie father and son George Black and Reece Chalmers who took on the challenge as a tribute to Reece’s grandad, also George, who is terminally ill.
Together with family friend Grant Sutherland, the intrepid trio managed to raise £1,139.
In addition, the Mecca Playhouse in Dundee and the city’s G Casino each submitted large teams and raised more than £1,170 and £1,600 respectively.
Fundraising events such as the abseil are vital to the ongoing provision of Marie Curie nursing in the area, with every penny raised ploughed directly back into patient care in the community.
Last year UK-wide, Marie Curie’s army of 2,000 nurses worked 1.2 million hours to care for 31,000 people at home or in one of their nine hospices.