A Dalbeattie couple have raised thousands of pounds for causes close to their hearts.
John and Rosemary Wood got the money over four years through a series of car boot sales held at Park Farm, home of Dumfries RFC.
They took on the fundraising challenge following Rosemary’s successful treatment and recovery from cancer, which was supported by Dumfries Infirmary, Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support.
The couple have so far drawn in £5,020 and recently handed over the latest £500 cheque to staff at DGRI.
Rosemary said: “We would like to thank all our family and our neighbours and good friends who all contributed items to the sales and supported us in many ways.
“Quite often people would come to one of our sales and give us money and then say ‘no, I don’t want anything, that’s a donation’.
“A lot of people have been touched by cancer and this was just our way of saying thank you for all the support and care we received.”
At the cheque handover, a new end of treatment bell was unveiled, which has been engraved as a tribute to John and Rosemary’s work.
The bell is rung by people who have completed a course of cancer treatment and again when they have completed five years in remission.
John said: “Our daughter Lesley in particular donated a lot of jewellery to us and, with other jewellery and ornaments which we inherited from other relatives, we were able to raise over £2000 just in the first 18 months.
“I was a jeweller so I was able to repair and restore a lot of the goods and then we were able to sell them.”
Charity operational manager of the health board’s endowment fund Nick Mitchell and members of staff at the oncology unit accepted the cheque.
Mr Mitchell said: “The fund is hugely grateful for this donation and for all the support that John and Rosemary have given over the last four years.
“Donations like this allow staff at DGRI and across the Health and Social Care Partnership to provide the best care they can to everyone affected.”
