Thousands raised for Macmillan Cancer Trust by members of Northern Trust's Day Opportunities team

Six members of the Day Opportunities team at the Northern Trust, supported by colleagues and service users, have raised £3533 for Macmillan Cancer Support through a series of fundraisers.

The Northern Trust’s Day Opportunities Programme was established to modernise and reform day services to enable adults with a learning disability to access community based services instead of those that are buildings-based.

A buildings-based day service is another term for an Adult or Day Centre. These buildings-based facilities provide a day service to people with a learning disability who have complex health care needs and or challenging behaviour and or specific vulnerabilities which deem them unsuitable for community-based day services.

The final total was reached after the team completed the charity’s annual Mighty Hike along a marathon-length route of the Causeway Coast on Saturday June 24.

As part of the build-up to the walking challenge, Coffee Mornings were held in Ballycastle and Magherafelt, giving service users and their families a chance to get involved as well.

Explaining more, Project Lead Amy Caskey said: “As a team we wanted to do something together around health and wellbeing, and which would also allow our service users, along with their carers, and family members, to play their part.

“They were a great support to us, and the coffee mornings were a resounding success, with everybody enjoying the chance to get together for a very good cause.

“In Day Opportunities we want to create a sense of purpose for our users and ensure they feel valued, and we certainly achieved this. 

"They really got behind us, helping with the organisation and decorations, and making sure we had a great selection of cakes and treats on offer.

“The Mighty Hike itself was an amazing experience from start to finish. It was a challenge but we all supported each other along the way and it was a very proud moment when we reached the finish line after covering over 26 miles.

“We want to thank all those who contributed to our fundraising, and we are especially grateful for the support we received from our Service Users in both Mid Ulster and Ballycastle and to all those local businesses who donated essential items to make the day a success.  

"While the walk was completed by our staff members, the initiative was a much wider effort than this, and we couldn’t have done it without everyone’s involvement.

“We are delighted to have worked together to raise this money for Macmillan, which will make a real difference to people living with cancer.”

The Mighty Hike participants from the Day Opportunities team were Amy Caskey, Danielle Dempsey, Mary Trese Mooney, Carleen Thompson, Sunita Nethery and Stephen Fillis.