Northumbria nursing graduates donate £1,000 to cancer charity

A group of recent Northumbria University nursing and midwifery graduates have gifted £1,000 to a North East charity close to their hearts.

When organising their department’s very own graduation ball, the former students thought long and hard about how they could give something back to the local community when planning the event.

It was decided to give away any surplus cash from organising the ball to North East cancer charity ‘Daft as a Brush’ which provides transport across the region for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Former nursing student and committee member Ross Wyatt, who was also Treasurer of the University’s Nursing Society, said: “All of us will have experienced some fantastic times, meeting people, building relationships and creating memories that we will keep forever.

“But sadly with this, we have also had the honour and privilege of supporting people at what may have been their darkest, most frightening times, to provide a listening ear, a supportive shoulder or simply a cup of tea.

“These are among the most important people in our training and these people shaped us into the professionals we have become. It was this that inspired the class of September 2013 Nursing and Midwifery at Northumbria to pass on £1,000 to Daft as A Brush as a thank you for the support we have had throughout our training.”

Fellow former nursing student, Tracy Dunkley, who was also part of the fundraising committee, added: “This sum of money will really support people from our local community, many of which let us into their lives when they and their loved ones were at their most vulnerable in order to practice our profession.”

Angela Ridley, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, said: “We are extremely proud of our students who graduate from nursing and midwifery at Northumbria University. We are thrilled that the students from September 2013 cohort have decided to donate this sum of money to Daft as a Brush, this is an exceptional charity and valuable service.”

Northumbria’s nursing programmes at Northumbria were the first in the country to be accredited by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and are ranked top 20 in the UK in both the Sunday Times Good University Guide and the Complete University Guide.