Barbara had been in hospital in isolation, but on the first day she was allowed to leave the room - she walked out of the building, across the road to the Maggie's centre and found Zoe, our Support and Outreach Coordinator, running her weekly coffee morning for people affected by aplastic anaemia. 

Barbara says Zoe was "like a beam of light". Incredibly - the pair quickly worked out that they had received treatment in the exact same room in the hospital! Comparing stories about the annoying noises and lights that kept them awake - Barbara told us about the sense of relief and hope that came from meeting Zoe - who had been through the same treatment as she was, and was now training to run a marathon!

This year, we want to give the same feeling of hope and being understood to more people living in more parts of the UK. We've been piloting coffee and chats around the country, and are launching regular coffee mornings in Birmingham and in Edinburgh - as well as Zoe's regular coffee morning in Leeds.

Show your support 

If you understand the value of this work, please consider a donation to our Christmas appeal. Donations made during The Big Give Christmas Challenge week (from midday on Tuesday 3rd December) will be doubled (up to £6000).

Donate now

How to connect with others in your area

If you want to connect with others in your local area, here's how:

1. Take a look through our events page to see if there's something going on near you.
   
   
2. Make sure you're on the list to receive our emails so you hear about it when new events are launched. You can sign up here.
   
   
3. If you feel like there's never anything happening in your area - drop us an email at [email protected]. We can help you to organise a simple event, like a coffee morning or a walk in the park - or even a Santa Splash! We'll promote it to our community to help discover anyone near you who's been just waiting for that opportunity to sit down with a cup of tea with someone who understands.