Morrisons started as a market stall in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1899. It began to be very popular so that after 21 years the family felt they could expand and opened their first retail store in 1920. These stores spread around Bradford and Yorkshire.
In 1961 the first supermarket opened. In 1985 as the supermarkets spread around the country, they introduced the “Market Street” concept. They began to bring more of their supplies by working with local farmers so that their food became more in-house.
They have a huge expansion around the country when they buy up the Safeway supermarket chain. In 2014 they started the on-line food delivery services. In 2016 they formed a partnership with Amazon to provide wholesale supply. Morrisons is eventually bought up by a multinational company and they then buy up the McColls convenience stores. It is interesting to see how the growth of the company changes over the years and in 2024 it celebrated its 125th anniversary. Then in 2025, Marie Curie won the chance to be supported by Morrisons.
This has been a massive opportunity for Marie Curie. Morrisons have really gone to town with this . They have produced their own goods with yellow labels so that if customers buy anything with yellow, they are donating to Marie Curie. They have the yellow money boxes on every till and they have a table covered in yellow where they hold competitions for children, raffles and ,of course, the ubiquitous money boxes which are chained to the tables so customers can continue to give money. Then on top of that local volunteers are allowed to come in every now and then to raise their own money for Marie Curie.
Marie Curie was started in 1948, inspired by the Marie Curie hospital in Hampstead , London. It was using pioneering radiology research in cancer treatment. Marie Sklodowska Curie, a Polish woman scientist, qualified in both Chemistry and Physics, conducted this pioneering research on radioactivity. She also designed mobile x-ray machines to help the wounded in the first world war. They were called Petites Curies.
She was the most extraordinary woman as she won 2 nobel prizes, one in Physics and one in Chemistry. Her French husband co-won the first nobel prize with her so they were the first married couple to win it. She never lost her sense of Polish identity, teaching her children to speak Polish and to visit Poland. Her daughter Irene Joliot-Curie won a joint nobel prize with her husband so the family in total won 5 nobel prizes, an extraordinary achievement.
The charity was originally set up as a cancer charity but, I suspect that, as massive cures in cancer are taking place, the charity became more expansive and moved their palliative care to all terminal illnesses like motor neurone disease for example.Our wonderful charity nurses are forever going into people’s homes to help with palliative care and other expert care. We also run hospices, one of which is in Penarth.
As a volunteer for the charity, when the Morrisons store gives us dates, we then go in and raise money ourselves for Marie Curie.
I must admit that I love doing this as I do this on a regular basis. I have got to know the lovely Morrisons staff. They are so friendly and helpful. We chat like old pals.
I have got to know the regular customers very well too, as I arrive, dressed in yellow with a silly hat. I have had customers buy me cups of coffee or soft drinks as I am on duty from 10am to 4pm. We chat about their lives and we also have humorous conversations so even though we are a charity about palliative care I find myself having a great deal of fun with the customers.
One customer asked me if I knew the nationality of Marie Curie and when I smiled and said Polish, he was as pleased as punch as he said that he was Polish too.
Another customer asked if they could have a hug and I very happily agreed and then he came back with a lovely donation and I gave another hug.
I also volunteer at the lovely independent art deco cinema in Cross Hands and I was talking about my fund raising for Marie Curie at Morrisons with my colleagues. They wanted to know how much I raised. So they were very impressed with the generosity of the Morrisons customers. When I returned to the cinema, they presented me with a cinema mug in appreciation of my hard work. They are great people themselves, working hard for the cinema.
The great thing about volunteering is that you get so much back. You meet new people, make new friends and learn so much about the charity. You learn about not letting people down, about having a sense of responsibility and because you care, you meet other people who care and find that you have so much in common. There are often Christmas parties, special training and special visits. I chose Marie Curie because this wonderful organisation helped my mother when she had terminal cancer.
This means that I can give back to them because they gave to my mother.
