Castle Douglas man who lost two wives to cancer fundraising for local hospital

A man from Castle Douglas who has lost two wives to cancer is rising money for his local hospital as a 'thank you' to NHS staff.

Jim McLelland from Crossmichael lost his first wife to cancer in 1994. His second died in the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary last year.

He's organising a festival for the local community, where he'll run, walk and jog for 12 hours matching the standard shift time for a member of NHS staff.

Mr McLelland said: “The One Big Thank You is really a thank you to all of the staff that work at the hospital.

"You’ve got the volunteers, you’ve got the receptionists, there’s the cleaners, there’s the porters there’s the chemists, there’s all these people that work there that we don’t see.

"These are the people we’re thanking.

"I’ve lost somebody that was dear to me, you’ve just got to get on with life.

"When Ruth passed away I didn’t have all these things to occupy my mind, so you just soldier through.

"I felt that this was one way of saying thank you to all the staff that had helped me get through it.

"It is our hospital and we’ve really got to look after it."

The 'One Big Thank you' will place on the 28th July 2024 when people are being encourage to hold their own fundraisers for the cause, before celebrating at the One Big Thank You event at Carlingwark Park, Castle Douglas.

Local organisations are also getting involved in the fundraiser such as the Loch Ken Trust and Castle Douglas Development Forum offering support to Mr McLelland ahead of the event next weekend.

Amanda Burney from the Castle Douglas Development Forum said: “We’d taken on all the stuff of organising it, where its going to be etc and let Jim go out and about to the communities to get the awareness out there.

"So hopefully lots of people will turn up on the day for a brilliant event”

Barney Fryer from the Loch Ken Trust said: "Communities getting involved in all sorts of different ways. Jim is an absolute pillar of the community he’s done so much for the community around Castle Douglas and Loch Ken"

Mr McLelland has already raised almost £9,000, all of which will support NHS staff and services, and as he seeks to raise more, the community here is rallying behind him.

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