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Ever passed Nottingham City Hospital and wondered what the unusual green building is that appears to almost float amongst the trees?

Hopefully it is a place you will never need to visit! However for many it is a life saver. Not in the surgical sense, but built in 2011, Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and social support from professional staff to people with cancer and their family and friends, following the ideas about cancer care originally laid out by Maggie Keswick Jencks.

In May 1993, Maggie Keswick Jencks was told that her breast cancer had returned and was given two to three months to live.

She joined an advanced chemotherapy trial and lived for another 18 months. During that time, she and her husband Charles Jencks worked closely with her medical team, which included oncology nurse, Laura Lee, now Maggie’s Chief Executive, to develop a new approach to cancer care.

In order to live more positively with cancer, Maggie and Charles believed you needed information that would allow you to be an informed participant in your medical treatment, stress-reducing strategies, psychological support and the opportunity to meet other people in similar circumstances in a relaxed domestic atmosphere.

Maggie was determined that people should not “lose the joy of living in the fear of dying” and the day before she died in June 1995, she sat in her garden, face to the sun and said: “Aren’t we lucky?”

In November 1996, the first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh and what Maggie had planned became real, since then Maggie’s has continued to grow, with 17 Centres at major NHS cancer hospitals in the UK, online and abroad. Built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals, Maggie’s Centre is designed to be a warm and welcoming place, where qualified professionals are on hand to offer a programme of support to help people find their way through cancer.

The groundbreaking model of cancer support pioneered by Maggie’s meets the practical, emotional and social needs of people with cancer. With new diagnoses rising by 3% each year, there is a growing need for Maggie’s. The Centres are places to find practical advice about benefits and eating well; places where qualified experts provide emotional support; places to meet other people; places where you can simply sit quietly with a cup of tea.

Maggie’s relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and the money they raise is thanks to wonderful supporters from charitable trusts and individuals, to the valued local communities around each of the Centres. Thanks to the huge generosity of supporters they raised more than £15.5 million in 2014 which enabled them to build new Centres and invest further in their programme of support.

You can help in many different ways. Any help you can give is valued, and every donation helps Maggie's support people affected by cancer.

You can make a donation of any amount at any time – either as a one-off or a regular payment. You can also join one of the many fundraising events that they organise each year or create your own event or volunteer and help make Maggie's events happen.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

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