York Against Cancer receives £2,000 from the Pavers Foundation
PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: Andrea Goodall, Head of Customer Services at Pavers and Committee Member for the Pavers Foundation, Julie Russell, General Manager at York Against Cancer and Cassie Sinclair, Assistant Procurement & Supply Chain Manager at Pavers.
Our support for a York woman going through cancer treatment has led to a £2,000 boost after her grateful daughter sought backing for our work.
Cassie Sinclair, Assistant Procurement & Supply Chain Manager at the York head office of family-owned shoe retailer Pavers, submitted a grant application to its employee-led charitable trust, The Pavers Foundation, to thank us for the help we gave her mum, Christine.
Founded by Catherine Paver in 1971, Pavers launched the Foundation in 2018 to enable charitable giving by the business and its 1700 staff. Through the Foundation, the amount pledged to good causes by Pavers has risen to £2.5m. Each staff member can put forward causes close to their heart which relate to health, education and community.
In February 2019, Cassie’s mum, Christine, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, the tumour was found early through routine checks, meaning it was only a matter of weeks before Christine began treatment, which included a lumpectomy and lymph node removal and radiotherapy at St James’s Hospital in Leeds.
Christine has become a user of the York Cancer Care Centre, which was established at York Hospital after a fundraising campaign by ourselves and The Press newspaper, York. The centre is there to help anyone who is, or has been, affected by cancer and provides a friendly, relaxed environment for patients and families. The centre offers a wealth of advice, services and support, including counselling, welfare support and a complementary therapy service, and York Against Cancer continues to support its work.
Cassie said her mum had also travelled to Leeds for three back-to-back weeks of radiotherapy at St James’s Hospital.
“She booked late evening appointments where possible and I would take the afternoon off work when needed to drive her,” she said.” My mum is a very nervous driver and often didn't feel well enough to drive during treatment, so between me and my stepdad, we helped to make sure she got there and back home.”
If, in the future, Cassie’s mum needed transport to Leeds for treatment or if she knew anyone needing help, she would not hesitate in suggesting using our transport. Our minibus collects patients from their homes or a pick-up point nearby, and drops them at St James’s for their radiotherapy appointments. The minibus will then wait to take everyone back home again.
As well as establishing the Cancer Care Centre and minibus service, York Against Cancer provides much-needed free breaks away at our respite holiday homes in Whitby and Filey. The holiday homes offer patients and their families a chance to get away for a three or four night stay and relax, regroup and recharge in a comfortable environment. The stays are available to every cancer patient receiving treatment from the York Hospital Trust, from diagnosis to mid and post treatment.
The donation of £2,000 will provide us with the opportunity to redecorate one of these fantastic properties, ensuring that patients and families just like Christine’s can enjoy quality and memorable time together.
Cassie said:
“Thank you to the Pavers Foundation for helping to support York Against Cancer and their holiday homes. The charity were brilliant when helping my mum. It’s great that we’re able to give something back.”
Julie Russell, our General Manager, said:
“Our respite holidays give patients and their families valuable time away. The holiday homes are just far enough away to make a welcome change, but also offer a sense of security as people are only an hour or so away from home, if an emergency occurred. Thank you to the Pavers Foundation for continually supporting our work, this donation will make a big difference.”
In 2018, Pavers acquired Jones Bootmaker and online shoe retailer, Herring Shoes. It has a portfolio of over 170 stores and employees under all three brands; Pavers, Jones Bootmaker and Herring Shoes are involved with the Pavers Foundation. The Pavers Foundation can only accept grant applications that have been submitted by employees. For more information on the Pavers Foundation, visit paversfoundation.co.uk.
Pavers is one of the UK’s leading shoe retailers, with a focus on comfort, quality and affordability. The footwear retailer was founded by Catherine Paver in 1971, and remains family owned today. Stuart Paver, Catherine’s Son, is Managing Director of the business and his son Jason is Director of Sales. Stuart’s brothers, Graham and Ian are now retired from the business but still play an active role in the Pavers Foundation.
Headquartered in York, Pavers continues to diversify and in 2018 announced the acquisition of Jones Bootmaker and Herring Shoes, broadening its product offering.
The business operates across a broad multi-channel network, selling its products in over 170 stores nationwide, pavers.co.uk, catalogues and TV (Sky channel 678).