MSP Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) and MSP Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) both recently took time out of their busy schedules to spend time with people affected by cancer who are using Maggie’s Fife and Glasgow Centres, respectively. 

Both visits were arranged through the People’s Postcode Lottery (PPL), of which Maggie’s is one of the founding charities.  The joint visits by PPL and MSPs to Maggie’s Centres are to inform the local politicians about the great work that Maggie’s do within their communities and to give recognition to the substantial funding that Maggie’s receives from PPL.

In fact, MSP Sarah Boyack (Central Edinburgh), who visited Maggie’s Edinburgh in August, subsequently raised a motion in Parliament to publically thank the People’s Postcode Lottery for raising over £3.2 million for good causes in Scotland.

MSP Claire Baker was also taken by her visit to the Centre, joining a group of Centre users around the kitchen table for tea and biscuits and an open chat about the affects of cancer on life. Mrs Baker said: “It was fantastic to visit Maggie’s and pick up on the atmosphere and great to hear about the support given to centre users across Fife.”

MSP Patricia Ferguson found the visit most useful and spend some time discussing with staff and Centre users how Maggie’s work with people to help them re-integrate into family and working life following being given the all-clear from cancer.

MSP Sarah Boyack’s motion raised in Parliament on 15/09/09 stated: The Parliament congratulates People’s Postcode Lottery on raising over £3.2 million for its charity partners since its launch in January 2008; notes that the five charity partners, which include Children 1st, Maggie’s, Missing People (in Scotland), Scottish Wildlife Trust and the recently created People’s Postcode Trust, have all benefited from substantial financial support, which, in many cases, has allowed them to consolidate and build on their existing services; looks forward to the further development of the People’s Postcode Trust, which has already begun to provide financial support to a number of grassroots projects across Scotland, and fully supports the continued investment in good causes by People’s Postcode Lottery across Scotland.