Elgin Cancer UK shop celebrates £2m funding raised

THE CANCER RESEARCH UK shop in Elgin are celebrating a major milestone this week – taking the total they have raised for the charity to over £2million.

Moray’s MSP Richard Lochhead was first to congratulate volunteers and customers when he met a few of the 38-strong voluntary force.

Shop manager Val Wilson said she was “thrilled” to be able to reveal the amazing landmark total had been raised by the shop for life-saving research into all forms of cancer.

She said: “The community in and around Elgin is so generous and I want to say a huge thank you to all of our customers and to our dedicated team of tireless volunteers.
“The volunteers here are aged between 15 and 84 and they are all so special. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to raise such a fantastic sum of money.”

First opening its doors in January 1998, customers have been flocking to the east end of Elgin High Street to donate and purchase goods over the years – with a large part of recent success being the willingness of customers to sign up to ‘Gift Aid’ which itself helped boost fundraising by £16,600 last year.

Richard Lochhead said: “I applaud the work of Val and her team who are doing vital work to raise the funds needed to beat cancer sooner.

“The volunteers can be incredibly proud of what they have achieved and the fact that they have raised over £2 million for such a good cause, making a difference to so many lives.”

The Moray MSP was also visiting the shop in support of Cancer Research UK’s Scale Down Cancer campaign to help prevent obesity-related cancers across Scotland.

Scotland has one of the heaviest populations in Europe, with around two-thirds (65%) of adults in Scotland and more than one quarter (28%) of children, overweight or obese – a major contributor to some cancers.

Mr Lochhead added: “Four in 10 cancers are preventable, yet not enough of us know that obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking. Given the devastating impact that cancer has on families in Moray, it’s vital we take action on obesity.

“We mustn’t let obesity continue to be the new normal in Scotland, and that’s why I’m joining forces with Cancer Research UK and the Scale Down Cancer campaign.”