Marie Curie looking for supporters during the Great Daffodil Appeal in Gainsborough.

The charity’s 70 Lincolnshire nurses work in people’s homes in towns and villages the length and breadth of the county, but their care is only possible thanks to volunteers who raise vital cash.

Gary Burr, Marie Curie’s community fundraiser for Lincolnshire, is appealing for volunteers in the Gainsborough area to help support collections for the Great Daffodil appeal.

Gary said: “I am looking for volunteers to help collect at stores such as Morrisons and Tesco in Gainsborough across February and March.

“There’s no experience necessary – they just really need to be enthusiastic; each volunteer would collect for a minimum of 2 hours.

“The charity supports people with any terminal illness, not just cancer, and there’s a great need for its work in Lincolnshire.

“We want people to decide where they want to spend their final hours and it tends to be at home.

“Support from Marie Curie nurses not only helps those who are terminally ill but the loved ones who care for them because they get a break - our nurses tend to go in at night time, 10pm to 6am.”

As well as looking for volunteers from the Gainsborough area, Gary is hoping businesses will get on board and give support in any way they can, perhaps by nominating Marie Curie as their charity of the year.

2016 saw the 30th anniversary of the charity’s Great Daffodil Appeal, which sees thousands of people buying a bright yellow synthetic daffodil.

It grew from humble beginnings in Scotland, when volunteers handed out fresh daffodils, to a multi-million success with £8.26 million raised in 2014 to fund 413,000 nursing hours.

“Fundraising volunteers are a fantastic asset to Marie Curie and we want to thank them for giving up their time to support the charity,” said Marie Curie nursing manager Sue Smith.

“Volunteers are vital to Marie Curie – without them we would not be able to continue providing care and support to people living with a terminal illness.”

Collection dates currently organised for Gainsborough are:

February 17 and 18 – Tesco

March 4 – town collection

March 3 and 4 – Marks and Spencer

March 10, 11 and 12 - Morrison’s

To volunteer at a collection, call Gary on 07525 801531 or email [email protected]