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| Thornton Heath | |
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The Advertiser Friday January 31 2003
Actress June Whitfield made sure charity supporters had an Absolutely Fabulous time as they marked 20 years of cancer care. The comedy star is a vice-president of the South-East Cancer Help Centre, at Purley Cross, which last week launched a year of events to mark its anniversary. The centre, which specialises in occupational and complementary therapy as well as support and advice, started life as a tiny group meeting in a Caterham front room. It now has around 400 members and has become
one of the leading organisations of its kind in the south of England,
receiving royal recognition with a visit from the But the group still depends entirely on donations and proceeds from fund-raising events. It takes £90,000 to keep the centre operational and this year the charity is launching an appeal for £20,000 to help cover costs. Centre co-ordinator Kathleen Behan said: "Times are becoming increasingly hard and we need to encourage people to keep donating." The late Tom Perkins and Avril Hinkley, who founded the group, proved a motivated couple who spearheaded a campaign to obtain a permanent home. Their dreams were finally realised when Tesco built its store at Purley Cross, providing space within the complex for the centre. Two years ago the centre faced upheaval when the supermarket decided to expand, but the changed layout led to a new, larger, centre being created on the same site. Kathleen added: "The size of the centre and the number of people it helps are a great tribute to the foundations that were laid. Things have certainly changed since then and one of the main developments is that we have now got more recognition from the medical Industry. There is recognition now that caring for people's emotional needs can be as important as medical needs." For more information call the centre on 0208 668 0974.
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