Your pennies help Maggie’s provide parents with expert care and bereavement support

Diners at Drake & Morgan bars and restaurants have had the opportunity to add a 50p donation to their bill when paying by card since 2013. In summer 2017, Drake & Morgan began supporting cancer charity Maggie’s, and customers have raised an amazing £35,000 for the charity so far.

Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends, just like Chris and Sarah. Chris and Sarah lost their son after a two year battle with a rare cancer, they turned to a local Maggie’s centre and were comforted beyond expectation.

“A week after his fourth birthday, my son, Alex, died after a two-year battle with neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. The day after Alex’s funeral, feeling empty, exhausted and lost, my wife, Sarah, and I decided to go along to Maggie’s Edinburgh.”

Maggie’s Centres, like the one visited by Chris and Sarah in Edinburgh, are built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals. They offer patients and their family and friends a place away from the ward where they can find practical advice, emotional support, professional staff and qualified experts – a home away from home at a challenging time.

Your donations help fund the charity’s amazing work, work that is life-changing for the likes of Chris and Sarah.

Here’s their story:

“At the time [after Alex’s death], we were both in bits. We had no expectation that anyone would be able to help us but figured it couldn’t hurt. Before I went to Maggie’s I felt sure that no one would or could understand my grief.

“After I visited I realised I couldn’t have been more wrong. Maggie’s made us feel welcome, comforted and reassured. We saw the Clinical Psychologist, Deirdre, every week, and somehow she just seemed to understand. Having sessions one hour a week meant you could survive the rest of the week – that’s how it felt.

“You hear about a lot of bereaved couples splitting up. As much as the counselling we had at Maggie’s was about cancer, it was also, effectively, marriage counselling. Sarah and I would deal with things at different times, and sometimes things would bottle up. As a couple we’d argue, but the default reaction would be that a visit to Maggie’s would help sort it out.

“It’s now two years since we visited Maggie’s and we’re stronger as a couple than before, and more capable. Even so, we know that Maggie’s is always there for us, whenever we need it.”

Just an evening of donations across Drake & Morgan restaurants could pay for a family to receive an hour’s emotional support from a psychologist at one of Maggie’s unique centres.

If you haven’t donated before, you can be a part of this amazing movement by pressing YES next time you visit a Drake & Morgan restaurant – giving your small change a big purpose in support of families like Chris and Sarah’s.