Marion first became involved with Macmillan nearly eight years ago when she was working at Irwin’s Bakery. Irwin’s had just chosen Macmillan as their charity partner and a committee was set up to help raise funds to support local people affected by cancer.

The resultant support was phenomenal, with the four-year partnership raising approximately £60,000. And when that formal partnership ended, a group of Irwin’s employees decided to set up a fundraising committee for the Craigavon area. Marion was the driving force behind that committee at the time, and has been ever since.

Last year saw the Craigavon committee - supported by local people - raise over £118,000 for Macmillan’s work in the area, leading to Marion being nominated for the Douglas Macmillan Award.

The reasons listed on her citation, included her support of Macmillan and her role in securing and retaining the support of Irwin’s, Northern Ireland’s largest independent bakery whose influence and fundraising expertise also earned recognition.

It was southern area fundraising manager, Maria McGlennon, who nominated Marion. Explaining her reasons she said, “Marion has also developed a unique style of fundraising within her local community and is now widely recognised as the local face of Macmillan.

“She uses her now in-depth knowledge of Macmillan and its services to sign-post people affected by cancer in the right direction. She tells people about our services and encourages those affected by cancer and their families to use them.

exceptional

“Marion truly is an exceptional woman. She is loyal, extremely supportive and has always been dedicated to Macmillan. She has never said ‘no’ to anything Macmillan has asked her to do and she is a wonderful ambassador for the charity.

“She’s genuine, she’s kind, she’s great craic to work alongside and she inspires those around her to go that extra mile for Macmillan.”

Responding to the accolades, Marion said, “It’s a great honour to accept this reward from Macmillan and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the Craigavon committee for their hard work and dedication.

“This has been a very successful year for the committee, which keeps going from strength to strength. And the £118,000 raised is a great reflection of the endless kindness and generosity of the local community.”