Al’s Pals and Coffee-Direct
We are delighted to be supporters of Al’s Pals, an incredible service that provides emotional and advocacy support to cancer patients and their families, as well as to support groups in hospitals, in homes and in the community, across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire.
Al’s Pals was named after one of Milton Keynes’ cancer patients, Alan Dumbell, who received ongoing treatment at Milton Keynes Hospital. Alan noticed that, whilst he was surrounded by his loving family throughout his treatment, he still felt lonely and lost at times, often discussing having a ‘buddy’ to support him and help him where he felt things were missing.
It was Al’s legacy to have a cancer buddy scheme created and with the support and passion of his daughter, Al’s Pals was born.
Al’s Pals has been running since March 2020, providing support to patients and their families both at home, in hospital, online and in the community, to anyone who requires it or who may be signposted to by their hospital, GP or surgery.
With the indispensable help of amazing volunteers, Al’s Pals is able to offer support, companionship, empathy and a listening ear to any cancer patient from the start of their cancer journey through to the end.
By understanding the needs of someone who has cancer and how this can affect their own lives as well as their families, Al’s Pals has created a network that supports cancer patients and their families in numerous ways:
• Sitting with patients or families to have a chat whenever it is needed
• Enabling a family member to have some time to themselves or to run errands
• Signposting relevant services that could help patients and their families
• Talking about everyday things and treating a patient as an individual, not just focusing on their condition
• Supporting and navigating through the information patients and family members receive
• Chatting on the phone between home visits
• Providing help and support for the patient and their family at end of life
• Picking up some light bits of shopping and/or prescriptions (with authorisation)
We feel very privileged to support the amazing work being done by Al’s Pals.
Learn more about Al’s Pals fundraising and volunteering opportunities here.