The eighth meeting of the season took place on Tuesday 14 April 2026 at the Panmure Arms Hotel, Edzell. President Marion welcomed members, guests and our speaker for the evening, Carol Kennedy.
Carol is the Fund-Raising Manager at the Maggie’s Centre in Aberdeen. Although Carol has only been in post for four weeks, she gave a very informative account of the foundation of Maggie’s Centres from the first centre built in Edinburgh 30 years ago to a further 28 in the UK and 4 abroad, with more planned. The catalyst for the Centre was Maggie Keswick Jencks who, when diagnosed with stage four cancer, wanted to create a place in or near the hospital where patients and their families could go for support in a non-clinical environment. The Centres provide support for a range of issues people may face after diagnosis. They provide benefits advice to support patients who may suffer loss of income and increased expenses. This is of enormous value and has helped gain benefits of over £1 million in the last year. Emotional and psychological support is provided through gentle exercise classes and walking groups, through craft and relaxation sessions and by offering a warm welcome and a cup of tea. Every Maggie’s Centre has a large kitchen table ideal for sitting and chatting over a cup of tea.
The Centre relies on funding and events are organised throughout the year. Maggie’s Centres is the chosen charity of our District Chairman for 2025-2026 and as a club we are delighted to be able to support the good work they do.
Our May meeting will see us disbursing money to local groups and charities in the area, before we enjoy our annual outing in June and break over the summer months, resuming meetings on the second Tuesday in September.
As always, if you are interested supporting us with knitting, sewing knitted squares, collecting stamps or ring pulls please contact Innerwheeldistrict1@outlook.com
Denise Donald
Club Correspondent
