A NATIONAL charity is asking the people of Tynedale to launch into spring by getting behind the daffodil appeal.

The Great Daffodil Appeal is Marie Curie’s biggest fund-raising campaign which takes place throughout March, and the first collections in both Hexham and Corbridge are on Saturday, March 4.

The charity is asking people to make a donation in return for a daffodil pin, but organisers are also asking anyone with some spare time to help with the collections.

The funds will be used to support the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle, which has seen an increase in the number of patients from Hexham and the surrounding area over the past year.

Recently rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle provides free care and support for patients living with a terminal illness and their families.

Tracy Read, from Colwell, began volunteering in Hexham and Corbridge a few years ago after her friend received care and support from Marie Curie.

She said: “That hour spent collecting was a life-changing moment for me, seeing how pennies really do make pounds – how giving up something as little as an hour of your time can make such a difference to Marie Curie.

“It gave me a chance to show some gratitude by volunteering.

“I am now a collection tin co-ordinator and ambassador for Hexham, Corbridge and the surrounding areas for Marie Curie and I do what I can, when I can, knowing that every little really does help.”

Local community fund-raiser for Marie Curie, Katie Searles, said: “We want to make sure that people know about the service available to them at the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle, should they need us, as well as raising vital funds for the hospice.

“All of the money we raise locally in the North-East does stay locally.”

For more information, or to sign up to collect for the Great Daffodil Appeal, call or text Katie on 07810 417863 or email Katie.searles@mariecurie.org.uk