The Great Daffodil Appeal is

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

's biggest annual fundraising campaign. Every March, millions of people across the UK support this fundraising event by giving a small donation to wear a daffodil pin. This makes it one of the UK’s most recognisable charity appeals. Money raised through the appeal helps Marie Curie provide free care and support to people living with a terminal illnesses.

History

The first Great Daffodil Appeal took place in 1986 with volunteers collecting donations and handing out fresh daffodils. In 1990 the Liverpool Marie Curie Society, in conjunction with Liverpool City Council, planted one million daffodils in the city's Sefton Park to create a " Field of Hope". This led to other Fields of Hope being established in other parks in the city over the years.Field of Hope
at wooltonvillagetripod.com; retrieved 6 October 2020 In 1995, Marie Curie replaced fresh flowers with fabric daffodil pins. Three million were given out and £1.2 million was donated. In 2005, the charity used the term 'Great Daffodil Appeal' for the first time. In 2011, actress

Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as M ...

appeared in the charity's first TV advertising campaign for the appeal. Steadman has continued her support for the appeal, appearing in TV ads in 2012, 2014 and 2015, as well as a 2016 radio advert with actor

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), ...

Key facts

In 2014/15, the

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

provided care to more than 40,700 people with terminal illnesses, and is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

. The millions raised by the Great Daffodil Appeal over the years have enabled Marie Curie to provide more free hands-on care to people living with a terminal illness, usually in their own homes or at one of the charity's nine hospices. During the 2015 Great Daffodil Appeal, more than 22,000 collectors took on 34,000 collections. As part of the 2016 appeal, supporters were also encouraged to raise funds by doing something they love, such as hosting a bake sale or quiz night.

References

External links

* {{facebook, MarieCurieUK Fundraising events Health charities in the United Kingdom