Maggie's to be built in Hammersmith

---

Hikers to raise £250,000 for the centre

At 11am on Wednesday 13th July Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown MP held a press call at HM Treasury to announce his support of Maggie’s & Open House inaugural Metro Life Hike. This 17 mile hike through the streets of London will take place on the night of the 16th September. HM Treasury is giving exclusive access to hikers as they seek to raise £250,000 for London’s first Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre.

Maggie’s London will be built alongside the oncology unit at the Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith and will offer psychological and emotional support to anyone affected by any type of cancer, including families and carers. Maggie’s provide a free service on a drop-in basis and are specifically designed to provide support and information in an informal, safe, secure environment.

At any one time 150,000 people in London are living with cancer, with 26,000 new diagnoses annually, 6,000 of these through the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust. If current trends continue these figures will increase significantly. Consultants predict that the number of people with cancer will increase, as the population grows older. At the same time, new treatments mean that more people are living longer, making access to support more crucial than ever before.

Maggie’s aims to offer support to 50% of the new diagnosed cancer cases that come to Hammersmith Hospitals. Over time we aim to help up to 80 people a day with cancer, open 5 days a week, from 9am to 5pm No appointment is ever necessary. Maggie’s needs £3.5m to start building in February 2006 and to cover two year’s running costs.

LBC Breakfast Show Host Nick Ferrari and Broadcaster and Maggie’s Patron Jon Snow have entered the event. Jon Snow has said, “ this is a chance at last to reach some of the parts of London you can never reach! Why don’t you join me on the Metro Life Hike along streets and into buildings and at times you have never dreamt of for night visions of Customs House and HM Treasury and sunrise at the Guildhall. We shall have exclusive access to buildings never opened to the public and will raise money into the bargain for London’s first Maggie’s Centre. Go for it … Join me for a night of Sheer Fun!!”

Jon Snow announced the Special July sign up offer of £50 per team and £25 per individual hiker (usually £50 per person). Maggie’s and Open House invite Londoners to team up with family, friends and colleagues to join this inspirational fundraising event and make a real impact on the lives of people affected by cancer.

“Maggie’s Centres long planned Metro Life Hike will go ahead and not be deflected by the recent bombings. I hope Londoners will join me on this wonderful night time walk through central London to help raise money to build a vital resource for all Londoners affected by cancer.”
– Jon Snow

Maggie’s Centres have joined forces with Open House, the architecture education charity, to create an event celebrating thoughtful design by offering exclusive night time access to the capital’s landmarks including HM Treasury, City Hall, The Guildhall, Custom House and Gibbs Building Wellcome Trust.

Maggie’s supporter and architect, Richard Rogers who is designing Maggie’s London, “ I hope to create something that is much more than a support centre, more homely, more welcoming, more comfortable, more thought provoking and more uplifting.”

July 18, 2005