Heywood woman is the new face of The Christie

A charity fundraiser from Heywood has become one of nine faces specially chosen to star in a new awareness raising campaign to support Manchester’s internationally acclaimed cancer centre, The Christie.

Brenda Walker, 79, has been fundraising for The Christie since 1986 and was spurred on in her efforts after seeing first-hand the care The Christie provided for her sister Kathleen before she died.

Since retiring from her job at the supermarket chain ASDA, Brenda has dedicated herself to fundraising for The Christie and is a regular sight in Rochdale and Bury town centre’s where she plays the keyboard to raise money for The Christie.

Brenda, who is married to Walter, 69, has been playing music in pubs and clubs for almost 50 years, was also one of the North West’s regional finalists in the Pride of Britain Awards 2019.

Throughout Kathleen’s illness, Brenda was hugely impressed by the dedication of staff at The Christie. She said: “When I saw the exceptional care The Christie gave to my sister before she died of cancer I knew I had to do something to help them. It was payback time, and that’s why I started fundraising for The Christie.

“All the fundraising I have done is to help people who are less fortunate than me. If I live to be 100 I’ll still be busking to raise money for The Christie. When I’m playing the keyboards people come over to me and share their story. They tell me how the staff at The Christie go out of their way to care for patients and their families. They are all angels.”

“It means everything to me to be involved in this campaign. As well as my sister dying from cancer, my friend’s little boy was taken by it and I also knew one of the other Christie fundraisers, Tom Buckley, who also lost his battle with cancer.”

“My grandson Andrew has been joking that when he sees my face on the adverts he is going to jump about pointing and shouting ‘That’s my nana’. I’m so proud that my support for The Christie has been recognised and I hope it will make a big difference. It’s such a great cause.”

The campaign that Brenda is fronting aims to show how crucial fundraising for The Christie charity is and how many of the services provided by The Christie hospital would not be possible without the support of The Christie charity. The campaign also shows the human side of care and treatment that The Christie provides throughout Greater Manchester and the North West.

It highlights the everyday work of The Christie, talking about saving lives, making breakthroughs, holding hands, wiping tears, lifting spirits, raising funds, ringing bells and beating cancer.

A key feature is that no actors or models have been used. All the people involved are real people who have a direct connection to The Christie including three patients, a doctor and nurse, two fundraisers, a volunteer and the wife of a current patient at The Christie.

The advertising campaign urges people to help The Christie ‘keep touching lives’. The campaign will run on everything from giant tower blocks to billboards, large digital advertising screens, bus sides, radio adverts and social media from 19 November for three weeks.

Brenda’s advert will be displayed on seven poster sites in Manchester including on the Mancunian Way, at Potato Wharf and in Fairfield Street. She will also feature on 19 electronic screens through Manchester city centre and in a Facebook advertisement.

The Christie charity hopes that the new campaign will encourage donors and potential donors to think about the work The Christie does in the run up to Christmas. The Christie is fundraising for a range of exciting new projects throughout 2020 including building a new world class cancer research centre, funding a new 4D scanner, attracting world class doctors and researchers, carrying out proton beam therapy research and conducting research into childhood cancer.

Donors and potential donors can support the campaign and make a donation at:

• www.christies.org/donate

The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds. This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families. 

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was the first specialist trust to be rated as ‘Outstanding’ twice (in 2016 and 2018) by the health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It referred to The Christie as ‘a leader in cancer care’ and ‘a pioneer in developing innovative solutions to cancer care.’ The CQC praised the Trust’s staff which it said ‘go the extra mile to meet the needs of patients and their families’ and that they were ‘exceptionally kind and caring.’ In 2017, the CQC rated The Christie as the best specialist trust in the country, and one of the top three trusts overall in England.