Morrisons in Redruth is celebrating raising a remarkable £14,231 to support children and young people with cancer.

Since 2017 colleagues have been fundraising as part of a national partnership between Morrisons and CLIC Sargent, the support charity for young lives struck by cancer.

The partnership has raised a total of £7.5 million to date, £500,000 alone being raised to mark World Cancer Day in February. This makes it the most successful partnership Morrisons has ever had.

The partnership is proving so successful that last month Morrisons colleagues overwhelmingly supported the move to keep supporting the charity for another year, until 2021.

The additional money raised will fund a new CLIC Sargent Home from Home near the Christie Hospital in Manchester, providing free accommodation for young cancer patients and their families during their treatment. Some families will travel long distances across the UK to receive specialist treatment, leaving them facing the huge financial costs of regular travel, or the difficult decision to spend time apart.

Holli Kellett, CLIC Sargent’s senior account manager for Morrisons, said: “Cancer leaves families emotionally and financially devastated. It means mounting bills, disruptively long commutes for treatment and fear over the future. We can’t stop cancer, but we can limit the damage it causes, and with Morrisons support we can fight for more young lives than ever before. Thank you to every colleague and customer from Redruth and across the UK for continuing to support this life-changing partnership.”

Dianne Keen, community champion at Morrisons Redruth, said: “We are so grateful to have such kind-hearted and generous customers here in Redruth. All colleagues really get behind CLIC Sargent, and we are proud to have raised so much for such an amazing charity.”

The store have been busy doing tombolas, fancy dress, hampers and more to raise the pounds to support children and young people with cancer across the UK.

So far support from Morrisons has enabled CLIC Sargent to give more than 5,000 grants to help families with the financial costs of cancer. The money has also funded a team of Nurse Educators who will work with community hospitals so confident cancer care can be delivered locally.

That means less travel and disruption to family life. The partnership has also enabled new online support for young people who may have been out of reach, including peer-to-peer network groups.