IT IS incredible!An amazing £9,000 has already come pouring in since the launch of the Raise the Roof campaign.The money is helping to take the first steps to the final amount to raise £100,000 to put the roof on the Cancer Education and Information Centre at Ipswich Hospital.

IT IS incredible!

An amazing £9,000 has already come pouring in since the launch of the Raise the Roof campaign.

The money is helping to take the first steps to the final amount to raise £100,000 to put the roof on the Cancer Education and Information Centre at Ipswich Hospital.

Cancer Campaign in Suffolk (CCIS) launched the project to build the centre in 1998 and since then have raised £210,000 towards the £300,000 needed.

So far more than £2,000 has come in directly to the Evening Star while a whopping £6,690.51 has been sent straight to CCIS.

That takes the total amount to nearly £219,000 and some people have already pledged amounts that should come in soon.

Gina Cooper, secretary and fundraiser for the charity said: "The money just keeps rolling in.

"There have been some fairly large amounts coming in and I have been very, very busy."

As well as thousands of pounds being dropped through the door, Ms Cooper has also been bombarded with phone calls to join in fundraising events since the launch of the campaign.

Last week the Evening Star highlighted lots of different ways that readers could get involved to raise money for this vital centre.

Sponsored walks, abseiling down Ipswich Hospital in July and taking up the Ladies Driving Challenge at RAF Bentwaters next month have all proved popular.

Ms Cooper said: "There has been a lot of interest and while the allocated places we had for some of the events were already filled, I have been able to get some extra places."

However there is still another £90,000 to raise in this year-long campaign and we need our readers help to do it.

Let us know about your fundraising events and we can publicise them to help you raise as much money as possible.

Or send in donations, made payable to Raise the Roof, and send them to Geraldine Thompson, editors secretary, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich.

WHAT IS THE CENTRE ALL ABOUT?

The Evening Star launched the Raise the Roof campaign to help Cancer Campaign in Suffolk raise the final £100,000 to put the roof on the cancer education and information centre.

Anyone with cancer will tell you that it is so difficult to take in any information when you have just been given such devastating news.

But with the planned new centre, the Internet will be available along with professionals for patients to find out what their condition means to them in their own time.

There will also be quiet places available for relatives or carers to be able to talk to consultants about the future for their loved ones and what the illness could involve.

The centre is also there for all sectors of the community to learn about the varieties of the disease, how to avoid risks of developing cancer, information about self-examination and what to do if you suspect a problem.

WEBLINKS: www.ipswichhospital.org.uk

www.cancercampaigninsuffolk.co.uk