The group embarked on the fundraising campaign in June 2019 with a target to raise £50,000 and expected it to span twelve to eighteen months, but as a result of the teamwork and engagement from all employees, it has exceeded the target just nine months into the campaign.

Employees from all 31 sites across the UK have done their bit to raise £28,945, which was match-funded by JDS up to £25,000, bringing the total to £53,945. JDS worked closely with Maggie’s centres around the UK to develop and execute a calendar of fundraising events and activities including, cultural crawls, bake sales, raffles, race nights and cycles, among many others.

Scott Cairns, outgoing group managing director of JDS, said: “I am incredibly proud of all JDS colleagues in delivering this fantastic figure for Maggie’s. The challenge was grasped head-on, and our teams had a great deal of fun and a good feeling of achievement while raising funds. I’d also like to say a huge thanks to many of our customers and suppliers who also made donations to help us achieve our ambitious target.”

Tu Edwards, centre fundraising manager, Maggie’s Fife, added: “Without the support of businesses like JDS, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do here at Maggie’s. Maggie’s is here to support people with cancer, along with their family and friends and relies on donations to develop our high-quality programme of support.

“At this difficult time we are no longer seeing people face to face, but we are supporting people in their homes by phone, email and our online community. I can’t thank JDS enough for their support and efforts throughout this partnership; it will make a huge difference to our centres nationally.”

In the current COVID-19 global pandemic, it is a timely reminder that people are still dealing with cancer and other life-altering conditions. All of JDS’ fundraising efforts were done in 2019 and early 2020, before the current crisis, and it hopes to be able to continue to support Maggie’s in the year ahead when conditions allow.