On Thursday 20th August Cancer Support Group Islay held a special lunch to remember our Co-founder Jennifer Gillies who we sadly lost a year ago. Jennifer was a talented artist and her husband Donald, along with Catherine from the Gaelic Centre, put up a mini Exhibition of some of her artworks for us all to enjoy.
Donald presented our Group with an amazing donation of £5,200 he and family and friends raised by walking the West Highland Way earlier this year. The same amount was also given to the Beatson Charity a fantastic achievement. We, as a Group, are overwhelmed by the kindness of our Community who sponsored them, as well as strangers who made donations along the way. The money will help us continue our quest to try and make the Cancer journey a little easier and less lonely on our remote island. However, the fact that so many of you donated and so generously too, also reassures us all that we are not alone, so thank you for that too!
This year without Jennifer has been hard but we remain committed to carrying on the mission she helped start. Our regular gatherings of ‘Cancer, Coffee & Cake’ happen roughly once a month and are a chance for people affected by Cancer, in whatever way, to meet others who instantly ‘get’ the extra challenges Cancer creates. People are very welcome to pop in for as long as they want and can bring a friend too. As well as our bi monthly Tai Chi sessions, kindly given by Gill Chasemore, we are hoping to start a gentle yoga practice. Focussing on keeping as well as possible is key so we hope to run future events concentrating on other aspects of wellbeing such as fuelling our bodies to help fight Cancer through nutrition. Other activities such as continuing our craft sessions are also planned but we welcome suggestions of anything that might help or provide a welcome distraction. We can be contacted on csgislay@gmail.com or via Facebook or our website www.cancersupportgroupislay.co.uk
Due to the kindness of our Community and the generous support we are fortunate to have been given we are now applying for Charity status. This will ensure the legacy Jennifer and others created will continue on a secure and stable footing.
