Putting Friends in the charity frame

Seizing the window of opportunity Arnold and the team also opted to launch and sponsor a new magazine for the leading cancer charity.

Taking delivery, Gordon McKeown said, “Diamond is very much a family firm and Karen and her dad, Arnold Agnew, have brought that supportive family ethos into their business.

“Arnold, Gillian and the rest of their circle of friends and family in and around Banbridge have always been great ‘friends of Friends’ and their infectious enthusiasm is evident throughout their whole company.

“We are grateful not only for their donations, but also for this imaginative approach to providing help in kind – something which is of growing significance in the charity sector.

“Our newsletter provides a platform that allows us to say ‘thank you’ to our supporters, volunteers and corporate donors. Importantly it also allows us to profile some of our work and keep our fund-raising ‘Friends’ up to date with new ventures and schemes.”

Arnold said it is important that they are able to contribute to the community.

“We feel it is important to give something back to the community which supports our business and can imagine nothing more fitting than the close association we enjoy with Friends of the Cancer Centre. Cancer touches a great many lives right across Northern Ireland so I feel local people are, like us, eager to help support cancer patients and their families.

“Friends of The Cancer Centre has been doing just that for 25 years and we are proud to be in a position to help them continue their sterling work.”

Friends of the Cancer Centre is the leading local cancer charity based at the heart of the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, Northern Ireland’s regional centre for excellence.