Up to 15,000 people in the Forth Valley area living with cancer could benefit from a brand new Maggie’s Centre which opened today in Larbert. Breast cancer charity Walk the Walk is the principal funder of Maggie’s Forth Valley, through a £3 million grant from funds raised by its iconic night-time fundraising event, The MoonWalk Scotland.

The new Maggie’s Centre has been built in the grounds of Forth Valley Royal Hospital and is offering free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends. The facilities were opened by the former First Minister of Scotland and Maggie’s supporter, Lord Jack McConnell, alongside Walk the Walk Founder and Chief Executive Nina Barough CBE and Maggie’s Chief Executive Laura Lee.  In a total surprise for Nina, the new Centre was named “Maggie’s Forth Valley at The Nina Barough Building”, in recognition of her and Walk the Walk’s vital contribution.  

Maggie’s evidence based programme of support will begin running from the new Centre tomorrow (Thursday 16^th March), with today’s events marking the official opening of the completed Centre.

Maggie’s Forth Valley at The Nina Barough Building has been designed by acclaimed architects Garbers & James and was developed by Maggie’s and NHS Forth Valley working in partnership to create cancer support of the highest quality for people in the Forth Valley area.  Every year 1,900 people in the region are diagnosed with cancer. As the number of people living with cancer increases, support becomes even more important.

Maggie’s in Forth Valley will give visitors access to a free programme of support, including drop in cancer support, one-to-one psychological sessions, benefits advice, nutrition workshops, relaxation and stress management, art therapy, tai chi and yoga.

The first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996 and Maggie’s Forth Valley joins 19 other Centres across the UK and abroad.

The Moonwalk Scotland has raised more than £19.6 million since 2006, with most of the money raised staying in Scotland to help improve the lives of those with cancer now. On Saturday 10^th June, thousands of women and men wearing decorated bras will once again walk through the streets of Edinburgh at Midnight, to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. Those aged 13 and over wear the charity’s trademark brightly decorated bras – this year’s theme is Jungle Safari, with Walk the Walk expecting some really wild creations.

This is the second Maggie’s Centre for which Walk the Walk has been the principal funder, following Maggie’s Glasgow, which opened in 2011.

Laura Lee, Maggie’s Chief Executive said:

“The opening of Maggie’s Forth Valley at The Nina Barough Building, our 20^th centre, is a landmark for Maggie’s and hopefully an important day for people of Forth Valley living with cancer. They now have a beautiful and unique building in a stunning setting where I know they will find the calm they need while going through what is probably one of the hardest experiences of their lives.  However, it is also a wonderful moment in the partnership between Maggie’s and Walk the Walk and I would like to issue my personal thanks to Nina Barough, Walk the Walk and walkers of The MoonWalk Scotland, as well as the local Forth Valley community, for helping to make this happen.”

Nina Barough CBE, founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk, the principal funder of the Centre said:   “This is such a magnificent day for Maggie’s, because they’re able to bring their service to Larbert and I think very quickly people here will wonder how they managed without it! It’s also a fabulous day for Walk the Walk, our MoonWalkers and everyone who has contributed. To see their efforts manifested into something tangible is breath-taking. This is also one of my most favourite Maggie’s – the tranquillity, the loch and the building nestled amongst trees with a beautiful outlook. As an organisation, Walk the Walk can now pass the baton on to Maggie’s to help the many thousands of people coming through the doors. It’s not about me, but it was a huge honour and surprise to find out that the centre is named after me and I’m still a bit discombobulated!”

Lord Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland 2001-2007 and support of Maggie’s said: “It fills me with great pride to open the 20^th Maggie’s Centre and to do that within the grounds of the Forth Valley Royal Hospital. I know that this vital support centre has been funded thanks to Walk the Walk and the hard work of Scotland’s MoonWalkers, and as a longstanding supporter of Maggie’s, I celebrate their contribution.  More people than ever before are living longer with and beyond cancer and the support offered by Maggie’s centres are needed even more now than it was in the past. For the residents of the Forth Valley area, this Maggie’s Centre, with its expert staff and evidence based programme of support will be nothing short of a lifeline on their doorstep.”

The iconic Gleneagles Hotel, which supports a number of local charities and fundraising initiatives, is donating a special Afternoon Tea for all those attending the launch event.

Bernard Murphy, Gleneagles’ Managing Director, said: “Gleneagles is proud to be associated with Maggie’s Forth Valley – which will be a vital asset in the region to support those whose lives are affected by cancer.  Providing Afternoon Tea for today’s event allows us to do our small part to support the remarkable work carried out by Maggie’s and Walk the Walk, and is a fitting way to celebrate such an important development for the region.”

 To find out more about Maggie’s Forth Valley, go to www.maggiescentres.org/our-centres/maggies-forth-valley/

More detailed information about Maggie’s Forth Valley, along with further quotes from key individuals is included in the Media Information Pack.

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For more details, contact:

• Jennifer McAllister at Walk the Walk 01483 741430 jennifermc@walkthewalk.org
• Samantha Booth at Maggie’s 07825 056394 booth@maggiescentres.org

 About Walk the Walk

• Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive, set up and leads the grant-making breast cancer charity Walk the Walk.
• Walk the Walk is passionate about encouraging women and men to become fitter and healthier and take control of their own wellbeing.
• In 1996, Nina woke up with the idea of Power Walking the New York City Marathon in a bra to raise money for research into breast cancer.
• Nina was diagnosed with breast cancer herself shortly afterwards, which was the starting point for Walk the Walk and the first MoonWalk London in 1998. The MoonWalk Scotland followed in 2006.
• Walk the Walk has now raised £113 million, which is granted to fund breast cancer research and to help improve the lives of people with cancer. More than £19.6 million has been raised in Scotland alone.
• Walk The Walk also organises The MoonWalk London (13^th May 2017), The MoonWalk Iceland (17^th June 2017) and The Arctic Marathon – a 26.2 mile backcountry skiing challenge in the far north of Lapland.

About The MoonWalk Scotland 2017

• Saturday 10^th June 2017, Holyrood Park
• Thousands of women, men and children will walk through the streets of Edinburgh at Midnight, with those aged 13 and over wearing Walk the Walk’s trademark brightly decorated bras.
• Four walking distances are available: New Moon (6.55 miles – minimum age 10 years old); Half Moon (13.1 miles) and Full Moon (26.2 miles) – both minimum age 13 years old; Over The Moon (52.4 miles – minimum age 18 years old)
• Walk the Walk is the principal funder of Maggie’s Glasgow at Gartnavel Hospital, Glasgow as well as of the new centre at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert.
• A grant was also made towards Maggie’s Lanarkshire in the grounds of Monklands Hospital in Airdrie.
• Walk the Walk has also funded the renovation of Ward 6, a new theatre and renovation of the Mammography Unit at the Breast Cancer Institute at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital.
• Walk the Walk is committed to providing funding to hospitals across Scotland and the UK to purchase Scalp Cooling systems, special machines which are helping many people undergoing chemotherapy to retain their hair. Walk the Walk has funded 54 Scalp Coolers in 25 Scottish hospitals.

 About Maggie’s Forth Valley at The Nina Barough Building

• Maggie’s Forth Valley at The Nina Barough Building was officially opened on Wednesday 15^th March in the grounds of Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert.
• The centre will offer Maggie’s evidence based programme of support from Thursday 16^th March 2017.
• The first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996 and the new Maggie’s in Forth Valley is the 20^th to be opened.
• The Centre was opened by Lord Jack McConnell. Maggie’s Chief Executive Laura Lee and Nina Barough CBE (after whom the centre is named), Founder and Chief Executive of breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, the centre’s principal funder, were also present.
• Maggie’s Forth Valley at The Nina Barough Building is a warm, uplifting Centre where anyone affected by cancer can go whenever they want. Maggie’s professionally staffed Centres are used by people at the time of diagnosis, throughout treatment and beyond and offer an enhanced, evidence-based core programme of support as well as a comprehensive service of complementary therapies including emotional, social and psychological support and benefits advice.
• The Centre has been designed by acclaimed architects Garbers & James
• Maggie’s relies on voluntary donations to support and grow its network of Centres and to develop its unique, high quality programme of support. The charity’s aim is to make the biggest difference possible to people living with cancer and their family and friends.

About Maggie’s

• Maggie’s offers free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends. Built in the grounds of specialist NHS cancer hospitals, Maggie’s Centres are warm and welcoming places, with qualified professionals on hand to offer a programme of support that has been shown to improve physical and emotional wellbeing.
• Great architecture is vital to the care Maggie’s offers; and to achieve that Maggie’s works with great architects like Richard Rogers, Norman Foster and the late Zaha Hadid, whose expertise and experience deliver the calm, uplifting environments that are so important to the people who visit and work in the Centres.
• The first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996. With the opening of Maggie’s: The Nina Barough Building, Maggie’s now has 20 Centres across the UK and abroad, as well as an online Centre for support.
• Maggie’s President is HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

For further information about Maggie’s please go to www.maggiescentres.org