MSP Alex Rowley commends the dedication, hard work and contribution of volunteers from Mid Scotland and Fife and across Scotland for terminal illness charity Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal 2020.

The national appeal, now in its 34th year, runs throughout March, and donations are given and daffodil pins worn in memory of someone who has died, or to show support for Marie Curie services and many families in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area have benefitted from the service Marie Curie provides..

The appeal raises money to support Marie Curie nursing and hospices services, as well as a volunteer-led befriending service, information and support service, and palliative care research.

Commenting on this year’s appeal Mr Rowley said: “Marie Curie provides vital care and support in Scotland to over 7,500 people and their families every year and it is the dedication hard work and contribution of volunteers that makes this possible.

“It is a fact of life that each of us will be affected by dying, death and bereavement at some point in our lives, and that is why providing the best possible support for people during these times is so important".

He added: “It is distressing to hear that every five minutes, someone in the UK dies without getting the care and support they need at the end of their life.

"The money raised during the Great Daffodil Appeal means that Marie Curie Nurses can be there for more people living with a terminal illness, providing them with vital one-to-one nursing care and support in their own homes.

“Through the hard work of volunteers, and from every donation received; it is a step towards one day where everyone can have the end of life care that they deserve.”