Over the past couple of years, you have probably noticed a few changes at The Pink Place as new trustees have joined with an enthusiasm to drive the charity forward in the most sustainable way possible. As trustees, guardians of the charity, it is our responsibility to ensure that the income, expenses, and services we deliver align so that the charity remains here for many years to come. It’s something we take very seriously.
The charity is currently in its fifteenth year of supporting those who experience cancer. Founded in 2011 by Julia Dingwall and Janis Taylor, the charity has a strong and proud tradition of providing the best possible services to local women with cancer. Despite our small size, we currently support around 260 women with just three dedicated staff and 56 volunteers.
As trustees, we are incredibly proud of that impact, especially when we are still such a small charity. Without doubt, this is a testament to the staff team – Kay, Christine & Nicola – and the dedication of the trustees who came before, that we are here celebrating 15 years.
Of course, we know that we can not stand still. Demand for our services is greater than ever, and the costs of running a small organisation continue to rise.
Last year, we took the difficult decision to close our Alton sessions and stop providing services specifically for men. The detailed reasons for this are on our website. This has enabled us to focus on how we work… and on our why?
We re-branded the charity based on feedback from healthcare professionals, and with the generosity of local businesses, there was no cost to the charity. With generous marketing support from Click 71 and Lauren Claiden (a volunteer from LG Motion), we have been able to better support our supporters, engage more with local businesses, and now have a clearer idea of what we say and why, so that our message spreads.
In the second half of 2025, one of our newer trustees, Eileen Stonock, engaged with our volunteers and the ladies who use our services to understand what we do well and, more importantly, where we could improve. We took that opportunity to also ask lots of questions about what The Pink Place means to the people who matter the most – our guests and volunteers – to help us create an overriding mission statement as a base on which to build the charity.
Our commitment is to provide women affected by cancer with holistic wellbeing services in a safe, welcoming, non-clinical environment. A place where, regardless of diagnosis or prognosis, no one faces cancer alone, finding strength and comfort through our services and shared experiences.
This one sentence allows us to all understand what we are trying to do together. With more people involved than ever – staff, trustees, volunteers, and guests – this is essential in a world where clarity is paramount to convey a message. This applies to fundraising, but it also applies to the women who don’t know they need The Pink Place yet, or that it even exists.
Other areas of focus for the trustees have been finance and resources. We are a very small charity, and our staff team, who already work above and beyond, only have so many hours in each day. As trustees, it is our responsibility to support and protect them, which has seen us make decisions that may sometimes seem at odds with our need to fundraise. But by making these choices, we have managed to allocate fewer resources to more productive projects, freeing up time and, most importantly, reducing pressure on our team.
We have also made great inroads with local businesses for fundraising and support. Phillips Law raised over £15,000 for the charity last year. This year, Andy Jackson, from Jackson Wright, re-worked our charity golf day, which has seen us sell more places than ever and sell out in less than a month. Our fashion show has also been reworked, attracting sponsorship from Ripton Windows, and, in 2026, Fortem Financial Management, who are paying for the prosecco – on top of fundraising for us throughout 2026 as their charity of the year. These relationships are essential as they enable us to share our message while encouraging organisations to fundraise for us, reducing the pressure on our team. The charity now costs around £11,000 per month to run. These changes mean we can focus more of our attention on the activities that have the most impact for the people who need us.
Meanwhile, we are also investing in IT to improve our efficiency and streamline our processes. This will take time, but it is a shift in our overall thinking to ensure the charity pushes forward and prepares itself for the next 15 years. The more stable we are, the more we can plan and deliver to the growing needs of the people who rely on our services.
This is the first of a regular communication, so if you have any specific questions or ideas, please email them to our Chair of Trustees, Craig Killick, who will be able to answer them and can respond publicly to address any general questions about The Charity.
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