Jennifer’s Fund: A Spotlight on Maggie’s Highlands
Jennifer's Fund is a heartfelt tribute that was created to carry the legacy of current Joint Managing Directors, Scott and Chris' late sister who died at the age of just 42. In honour of her memory, Cairngorm Group have pledged
a minimum of £10,000 per year (with maximum grants of £1,000) into activities that are designed to help create memories.
One organisation that made an application in a round of funding (and was later successful) was
Maggie's Highlands, which is part of the umbrella organisation, Maggie's - a network of centres (in the UK and abroad) that promise to be
'everyone's home of cancer care'. From the words of the centre's Head, Seonaid Green, Maggie's help people "find joy in the face of cancer".
Upon being invited to the centre to hear about how the grant might be used, Chris reminisces:
"I've heard that walking into Maggie's Highlands was a bit like receiving a warm hug, but until visiting I'd never experienced it."
He reflects that the Inverness-based centre has a warmth and a buzz to the place and...
"In spite of the common purpose uniting everyone in the building – it’s for people with a cancer diagnosis, and their families and close friends - it didn’t feel like a sad place to be."
It was agreed that the grant would part-fund one of Maggie's Highlands many courses - a seven-week Children's Support Group programme which would support children that have a family member with a cancer diagnosis. It's a place where they can have all sorts of conversations, speak about something that feels a bit scary to say at home, meet other children in similar positions and use artwork to explore their emotions.
On his visit, Chris was shown photos of some of their recent workshops - there was one where the children painted a huge river, with rain clouds to demonstrate their sadness, and a smiley sun to show their happiness. The river was to help the children understand that they would pass through their emotions. Another photo, from a different workshop centred around the topic of fear saw the children making superhero masks, to represent the powers they may have to increase their braveness.
Our micro grants are suitable for projects based in the Highlands, Moray or Grampian. In the case of Maggie's Highlands, we see the grant's beneficiaries were perhaps a little further reaching as the centre's footprint supports those in the NHS Highlands area, Argyll, the Western Isles and even further afield to those from Orkney and the Western Isles. Chris was blown away through learning that the one small building in Inverness (which has been open since 2005) supports cancer patients from 41% of Scotland's landmass.
Cairngorm Group are delighted that Maggie's Highlands were one of their grant recipients, especially so because the organisation mainly relies on community funding, trusts and legacies but also because it seemed so fitting for a donation in Jennifer's name to go towards supporting others affected by cancer. Jennifer was always more concerned around making memories with her own three children that having the latest toy or gadget too.
Chris makes some concluding remarks:
"I’ve driven past the building in the grounds of Raigmore Hospital on numerous occasions over the past 18 or 19 years, but I’d barely given a thought to what happens inside.
I’m now really grateful that Maggie’s Highlands applied for this funding, and that I know that we have this facility in our community for families like mine – and yours – should we ever need it. I’m also pretty certain Jennifer would wholeheartedly approve of us funding the Children’s workshops in her memory."
To find out more about the Jennifer's Fund and how you can apply, click
here.
One organisation that made an application in a round of funding (and was later successful) was Maggie's Highlands, which is part of the umbrella organisation, Maggie's - a network of centres (in the UK and abroad) that promise to be 'everyone's home of cancer care'. From the words of the centre's Head, Seonaid Green, Maggie's help people "find joy in the face of cancer".
Upon being invited to the centre to hear about how the grant might be used, Chris reminisces:
It was agreed that the grant would part-fund one of Maggie's Highlands many courses - a seven-week Children's Support Group programme which would support children that have a family member with a cancer diagnosis. It's a place where they can have all sorts of conversations, speak about something that feels a bit scary to say at home, meet other children in similar positions and use artwork to explore their emotions.
