M6toll support Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer Charity Appeal
Midland Expressway Ltd (operators of the M6toll) are proud to announce their support of ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’ with a donation of £1,500 to fund a ‘Hug in a Bag’ project for local women.
Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer (LFBC) was established in 2000 by Veronica Kumeta and the late Sue Macmaster, after their friend Carol Knaggs was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Carol sadly lost her battle with cancer, as did Sue when she was later diagnosed with the disease. But their legacy lives on through the outreach, fundraising and community care provided by LFBC. The charity that was set up to support Carol and Sue, has now supported hundreds of women in their loving memory, for more than two decades. Veronica now works with an amazing team of support workers and volunteers with a core aim of raising the importance of early detection, whilst also providing community support and raising funds for the fight against breast cancer.
LFBC developed their Hug-In-A-Bag initiative in mid-2020, as a direct response to conversations and feedback from service users within LFBC’s core support groups. The result was the provision of durable, reusable bags to women undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy in hospitals across the West Midlands. They have been running this initiative since late 2020, and are currently working with twelve hospitals, and in talks with three more across the region.
The bags which M6toll colleagues have kindly been volunteering their time to pack contain items that a woman will either need or be appreciative of when they attend their first session.
Veronica Kumeta; Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer said: “Thank you to everyone at the M6toll and the Drive for Charity Team for your very generous donation to our hugs in a bag campaign which is very much appreciated by us all.
Thank you also to the volunteering team who assisted us with packing up a delivery of bags for local women.
Local charity. Helping local people. Making a difference.”
Sheena Hawkins; M6toll Charity Coordinator added: “Having gone through breast cancer treatment, I was overjoyed that we were able to support this initiative. I know from first-hand experience that support groups like LFBC are much needed and welcome. Learning that you have cancer can make you feel overwhelmed, anxious and you can’t take everything in at the time of diagnosis. Patients and their families are desperate for knowledge in a language that they can understand and LFBC provides that together with a little hug if needed. It’s also nice to make friends with people that are going through the same journey, making treatment that little bit easier.”
Since 2000, Ladies Fight Breast Cancer has raised more than £1.5 million to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Trust’s Cancer Unit, which has helped raised fund leading edge medical equipment and create a ‘centre of excellence’. For more information about LFBC can be found here visit: Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer – Offering Cancer Support West Midlands (lfbc.org.uk)
Midland Expressway Ltd’s (MEL) donation forms part of a wider initiative to support local schools and community projects. MEL’s Social Squad is always on the lookout for local charities and community projects to support. To register your charity or community project with MEL for consideration to receive fundraising or practical (volunteering) support now or in the future visit www.m6toll.co.uk for further information or email d4c@m6toll.co.uk
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