Jamie Ritblat is the founder and chairman of Delancey Real Estate. Having acquired a 30-year track record in the British real estate sector, Mr Ritblat heads an award-winning property development and investment company that has successfully completed numerous ambitious development projects across London. Under Jamie Ritblat’s leadership, Delancey Real Estate has acquired, managed, developed and sold some £20 billion in real estate and related investments.
In addition to his work with Delancey Real Estate, Jamie Ritblat has also served as a board member for several other organisations, including the Southbank Centre, Kings College University London, Kew Gardens, Tate Britain, Marylebone Cricket Club and Maggie’s Cancer Centres.
This article will look at the work of Maggie’s, a charity that offers free cancer support and information online and via centres across the United Kingdom.
Maggie’s provides support specialists, benefits advisors, and psychologists for people with cancer and their families. Maggie’s centres enable people dealing with cancer to share their experience with others in a similar situation.
To date, the charity has helped service users to access more than £31.6 million in financial benefits, easing financial worries at what is already an incredibly challenging time. 96% of people who have visited a Maggie’s cancer centre report feeling less alone afterwards, with 98% agreeing that they feel more confident talking to their medical teams as a result of their visit to Maggie’s.
Jamie Ritblat served on Maggie’s board from 2005 until 2014. In the role of director, he supported the charity’s development at both a property and organisational level, dedicating his time to help grow the charity’s 24 centres.
In addition to serving as a member of the board, Jamie Ritblat was also a member of the London Fundraising Board; a member of the Business Development Board; a member of Maggie’s Property Committee; and a member of the charity’s ‘Joy of Living’ campaign.
Committed and enthusiastic about the charity’s work, Jamie Ritblat is passionate about reaching more people affected by cancer. Thanks to his personal gifts to Maggie’s combined with his willingness to connect the charity with key contacts, Maggie’s ‘Joy of Living’ fundraising campaign was a resounding success, reaching its ambitious fundraising target of £15 million and culminating in the creation of five new Maggie’s cancer centres, expanding the organisation’s reach across Cheltenham, Oxford, Swansea, Nottingham and Newcastle. Jamie Ritblat played a hands-on role in the planning and development stages of these new cancer centres, seconding one of his most experienced property directors to Maggie’s full time, enabling the charity to leverage his strategic and detailed experience to help create high-quality spaces that have a positive impact.
2013 saw the first Maggie’s Culture Crawl. Staged in London, the event saw hundreds of participants walk 15 miles in a night-time adventure across the capital, raising vital funds for Maggie’s. Delancey Real Estate sponsored the Culture Crawl multiple times, with the event raising more than £500,000 for Maggie’s annually. Delancey Real Estate also sponsored Maggie’s annual carol concert over many years, as well as other special events.
Maggie’s adopts a multi-pronged approach to cancer support, with its professional teams and support groups presenting courses and workshops dealing with all aspects of coping with the condition, from treatment to helping alleviate money worries. For people with cancer and their families, dealing with the disease can be incredibly challenging from an emotional perspective. Maggie’s provides a wide range of practical support, including creative therapies and helping service users to deal with diagnosis, manage stress and process emotions after treatment.
Cancer can affect many aspects of an individual’s life, from routine day-to-day activities to their ability to work, travel, pay bills and get insurance. Maggie’s helps its clients to negotiate all of these hurdles, as well as helping them to manage the symptoms of cancer and the side effects of treatments.
Maggie’s centres offer practical support to families, providing information and advice on supporting someone who has cancer. The organisation also helps people with cancer to manage socially, connecting them with other people experiencing a similar situation and helping service users to access support and discuss their condition with healthcare professionals.
