Gladedale bursary opens doors for Mesothelioma Self-Help Group

A community donation from one of the North East’s leading housebuilders will enable the region’s largest cancer charity meet the growing costs of its self help group as a result of its growing popularity.

Gladedale committed £1000 to a new community bursary aimed at helping local charities and organisations make a positive and far reaching contribution for the area. In response to the many applications that were received, Gladedale has responded by splitting the bursary, donating a notable sum of £700 to the North East Mesothelioma Self-Help Group; a charity launched in 2003 that helps families who have suffered bereavement as a result of Mesothelioma an incurable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

According to Chris Kighton, the Chair of the North East Mesothelioma Self Help Group deaths arising from the disease are growing at an alarming rate with one of the highest tolls being in the North east where numbers are more than double that of some other UK areas.

She said: “I know just how valuable such a group is to people whose lives have been affected by the cancer. I have seen the number of members grow year on year and I’m seeing more than 30 people regularly travel as far as County Durham to attend the monthly meeting. We have tirelessly raised the profile of the charity across the region and from the feedback I know just how important it is to be able to help sufferers start rebuilding lives when their loved ones are no longer here.

The charity offers a much needed community for our members where they can come together, share their stories, learn from others, listen to guest speakers which we organise and through our social calendar have some fun too. Monies kindly donated by Gladedale will enable us to meet the needs of our current and future members.”

Richard Jones, Sales Director of Gladedale in North East England, said: “Gladedale is committed to helping improve the lives of people. We can achieve this through the homes that we design and build and where and when possible make positive in-roads by helping improve local amenities and services that are needed. On this occasion we felt that Chris’s work is making a meaningful impact on many lives throughout the entire region. Through our monetary donation we hope that the charity’s profile will be raised enabling many others to become aware of the support that can be offered.”

The bursary is the first of its type from Gladedale in the North East of England and following the high number of applications made, it is expected that the housebuilder will launch its second bursary initiative at the end of 2009.