Ford Employees Fund Macmillan Nurse For Essex

BRENTWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM – Dec 19, 2011: After five years of determined charity work, Ford employees have raised £140,000 to fund a full-time Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist post in Essex. The fundraising target was reached after their most recent initiative – this year’s ‘World's Biggest Coffee Morning’ - held across Ford sites at Dagenham, Dunton and Warley.

Representatives from Macmillan Cancer Support praised the fundraising team at a special event at Ford Dagenham attended by local management and supported by the Chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe, Stephen Odell.

Rachel Gascoigne, Corporate Account Manager for Macmillan, said: "We are incredibly grateful to everyone across the Ford Dagenham estate and other Essex sites for their support and enthusiasm in helping us to raise £140,000 to fund a Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist for three years, supporting people living with cancer and their families receive essential medical, practical and emotional support."

Stephen Odell added: "Congratulations to everyone who has supported this fundraising campaign so enthusiastically. You are a credit to Ford and I really appreciate all your efforts."

Ford’s close association with Macmillan started more than five years ago. Chris Woodmore, then UK Transport Operations Manager at Dagenham, contacted Macmillan in 2006 following the illness of a colleague, who was supported by three Macmillan professionals. Chris started to raise funds with a race day at Folkestone Race Course that resulted in donations totalling over £16,000. A campaign was then officially launched in 2007 to fund a Macmillan post in Essex.

The total was achieved as the result of fundraising events, initially across the Dagenham estate, and then also from Dunton and Warley, which has recently joined Dagenham in taking part in Last Hours Pay (where employees elect to donate their last hour of pay) and The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. Employees also contributed by organising race days and golf competitions as well as taking part in events such as marathons, the Three Peaks Challenge, and sponsored walks and cycle rides.

Ford also supports Macmillan with eight branded trailers and transporters that carry Macmillan advertising. Ford has also played a key role in helping Macmillan produce and launch the Work and Cancer toolkit, which supports employers with practical advice, top tips and guidance for HR professionals, managers and employees. It has been created to ensure that people affected by cancer are effectively supported, should they wish to remain in or return to work.