A close-knit group has been giving Maggie’s Fife a boost

A special group of volunteers have been marking their most successful year to date after raising £16,121 for our Maggie’s Centre in Kirkcaldy.

Members of Made for Maggie’s run a monthly fundraising stall selling various handmade knitted items and all the proceeds go to Maggie’s Fife.

Running for over five years, it all started with an idea to sell a few knitted baby items.

Volunteers were provided with a table at the main entrance to Victoria Hospital and the stall has been running there ever since.

In 2019 the knitted items which helped to raise the majority of the £16,000 – double the amount raised in the previous year – were the colourful Easter chicks and decorative Christmas puddings, filled with creme eggs and Ferrero Rocher.

The local community also helped by donating chocolate and wool.

You may also be interested in:

Budget D-Day Fife braced for maximum Council Tax rise

Plans to restore locomotive in Fife still on track

Appeal to buy special helmet for four-month-old Fife boy

Places such as Kat’s Mission in Kinglassie (which is donating over 2020 eggs this year) and Tesco Fire Station in Dunfermline donated more than 1000 creme eggs last year and Kelty and District Loving Hands group knitted hundreds of chicks and puddings.

Rejects department store in Kirkcaldy is also currently selling the knitted items.

Lynn Wilson is one of the group’s original members who started with her mum May Buchan in 2014. Lynn explained how she got involved: “I was a centre user and used to come with my mum and I started helping out as a way of giving back.

“My mum was given a bag of wool and wondered what to do with it, so she started knitting little fingerless gloves, hundreds of pairs and she sold them at Maggie’s.

“Just before Christmas in 2014 she knitted little hats and booties for babies which we sold and it just grew.

“We had a table manned by myself, my mum and my daughter. The table was quite sparse initially but over time it just took off.”

Lynn then approached people to help; most were Maggie’s centre users who also wanted to give something back.

There are now 14 volunteers but the group is looking for more people to knit, particularly the chicks, as Easter is coming soon and the next stalls are on March 17 and April 21.

Lynne Napier, who has been involved with Made for Maggie’s since November 2018, now organises the monthly stall, which runs from 10am to 3.45pm on the third Tuesday of the month from February onwards.

She said: “Predominantly it is the baby clothes which sell quite well - we sell knitted cardigans, beanie hats, booties and blankets as well as the seasonal items.”

Louise Duncan, centre fundraising organiser at Maggie’s Fife, said they were grateful to everyone who supported the cause.

Proceeds help Maggie’s Fife support so many more people who need the facility when they are going through cancer treatment.

She said: “The volunteers are all so amazing. The dedication they all give to Made for Maggie’s is fantastic; it wouldn’t have been possible to raise such an incredible amount without them.

“The stall may only be once a month but they work so hard in between as well, from sourcing the chocolates and materials, to collecting and dropping off chicks and puddings to arranging places to sell them.

“We are so grateful to everyone who supports Made for Maggie’s in every way, from volunteering, crafting to buying from the stall.

“When we realised that the amount raised had more than doubled what was raised in 2018 we were all so amazed and appreciative to everyone involved.

“It has been through the hard work that all the Made for Maggie’s volunteers have put in this year and with the local businesses which have increased the demand and awareness of Maggie’s.

“All proceeds raised will make a huge difference to our work in providing a place to come when people with cancer and their family or friends need to seek advice or want to meet others in a similar position.”

Tu Edwards, centre fundraising manager, said it had been amazing to see the Made for Maggie’s group grow from its inception, with Lynn and her mum May, to what it is today.

She said: “They have captured people’s imaginations and their hearts and the volunteers feel it has given them a sense of purpose. People in the community may not be able to go out and run a marathon but they can do their bit for Maggie’s by knitting or buying one of the knitted Christmas puddings or chicks.”

Tu praised the group for the way it has built relationships - not only attracting volunteers but also through gaining the support of local businesses.

Anyone who would like to help by knitting items should email: [email protected].