Swift Group pledges fundraising support to the Daisy Appeal for five years

BACKING: A delegation from Swift Group inside the new MIRC which has been provided by the Daisy Appeal at Castle Hill Hospital

By Simon Bristow

The UK’s largest manufacturer of touring caravans, motorhomes and holiday homes has pledged its support to a charity on its doorstep which is transforming detection techniques for serious medical conditions.

Swift Group, based at Cottingham, has confirmed the Daisy Appeal as one of its chosen charities and will help to raise funds for the ongoing development of life-saving and life-changing facilities and treatments at Castle Hill Hospital, which is also in Cottingham.

A Swift Group delegation which included managing director James Turner, his deputy Amy Archer and representatives of the firm’s employee forum, visited Castle Hill to find out more about Daisy’s work across the Hull and Humber region tackling cancer, heart disease and dementia by offering quicker diagnosis, better treatment and improved quality of life for thousands of people every year.

Mr Turner said one of Swift’s main core values is supporting the community which is home to its employees, their friends and families who all rely on local services, such as doctors, emergency services and hospitals.

He added that the company and its 1,200 employees will support the Daisy Appeal for five years and chose the charity because many people in the local community have accessed and benefited from the unique care which it provides.

He said: “We’re really impressed by the work of the Daisy Appeal and what they’re doing in providing innovative diagnosis and treatment of many medical conditions, and to have this facility on our doorstep is a huge benefit to the local community.

“I know that I speak for the whole team at Swift when I say it’s a pleasure to be able to provide charitable support for the ground-breaking work and services they offer.”

SUPPORT: From left, Daisy Appeal Trustee Karen Guest, Professor Steve Archibald, Professor in Molecular Imaging at the University of Hull, Swift Group Deputy Managing Director Amy Archer, and Swift Group Managing Director James Turner

The Daisy Appeal was founded in 2000 and has since raised more than £22m. The Daisy Appeal Medical Research Centre opened on the Castle Hill Hospital site in 2008 and was followed, in 2014, by the opening of the Jack Brignall PET-CT Scanning Centre.

The team from Swift joined Prof Steve Archibald, Professor in Molecular Imaging at the University of Hull, for a tour of the latest addition to the site, the £8.8m Molecular Imaging Research Centre (MIRC) which is a UK first and will become operational later this year.

Karen Guest, a Daisy Appeal trustee and co-owner of Guest & Phillips jewellers in Beverley, said: “We are extremely grateful to Swift Group for supporting the Daisy Appeal and we were delighted to give them a sneak preview of the new building and show them how they can help us develop a centre which is now established and recognised internationally.

“The continuing support of businesses, individuals and the wider community is vital as we edge closer to our fundraising target for the new centre and it will remain essential to cover running costs. In addition to boosting the financial side we are confident the involvement of Swift will raise the profile of the Daisy Appeal and encourage others to come forward.”

Claire Levy, fundraiser for the Daisy Appeal, said she is looking forward to working with Swift on a programme of fun and exciting events.

Claire said: “The fact that Swift Group brought members of their employee forum to look round the new building shows that everybody in the company is behind the partnership, and that’s fantastic.

“For our part we want to work with them to create a programme of fundraising events which are fun and interesting and involve as many Swift employees as possible.

“People have come up with some great online fundraising initiatives during the pandemic and we may be able to continue some of those but more than anything we want to help people get back onto the streets and into the open spaces and social settings with some exciting, new fundraising ideas.”