The Exiles – an inspiring group of local business associates – hosted their tenth annual St George’s Day Lunch in aid of The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre at The Spa Hotel on Friday 24 April.

Over that time, the Exiles have raised more than £200,000 for the Tunbridge Wells-based charity that provides vital emotional support and therapies to people with cancer (along with their family and friends) from its centre in Monson Road.

As ever, the lunch sold-out months ago, with supporters including CooperBurnett LLP and Tunbridge Wells Business Magazine taking tables.

Chair of Trustees, David Bartholomew, thanked the Exiles and lunch guests for their ongoing support. Then Karen Dodd, a volunteer counsellor at The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre for nearly ten years, gave a passionate speech about the support the charity provides and the difference it makes to visitors.

The event also included an auction and raffle with prizes provided by many very generous donors.

The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre will use the funds raised to enable it to continue providing support, particularly as the charity moves into a larger building in Monson Road later this year.

Thanks to the generosity of everyone involved, the event raised an incredible £21,892.80 for The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre.

Photographs by Sarah Bartholomew

2026 will see a year of big change for The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre charity, which celebrated its 21st anniversary last year. It not only moves into bigger premises but hopes to take on more volunteers and corporate supporters, says its Deputy Chair Angela Ward…

How does The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre differ from other local cancer charities?

As our name suggests, we are a ‘drop in’ centre and we welcome anyone with cancer (and their loved ones) to ring on our doorbell. Once inside, our visitors are welcomed with a hot drink and the opportunity to chat with our volunteers. We offer a non-medical setting and are there to support the emotional side of a cancer diagnosis.

Can you put a figure on how many people you are currently supporting?

In 2025, there were 1,911 individual visits to the Centre and 1,021 therapy sessions provided. In total last year, 86 newcomers walked through our door. In addition to an opportunity to chat (or simply sit quietly), we also offer a variety of therapies – from counselling and acupuncture to art and ceramics groups. All our therapists are volunteers.

You have gained new premises here in Tunbridge Wells. How did this come about?

Our existing Centre at 27 Monson Road has served us well over the past 19 years, but we recognised that we needed more space. We also want our entire building to be accessible, as we currently only have one therapy room on the ground floor. We looked at a few potential buildings but then discovered our near neighbour, the charity Imago Community, was moving, as they also required additional space. Imago’s building, at the end of the same terrace in Monson Road, comprises two of the original houses – so is double the size of our existing home.

Will the additional space give you more room for therapy spaces?

Yes, we hope to have room for six or seven rooms, as well as a light-filled art therapy space on the second floor. We’ll also have the same welcoming lounge area downstairs, plus a fully fitted kitchen and an airy conservatory. Importantly, it’s key that our new Centre is fully accessible
to everyone, so we’ll have a lift to reach all the floors. There’s a lot of work to do until we can officially move in, so we will be keeping our existing Centre until that time, ensuring visitors are supported throughout this period.

You raised funds through your Key to the Door campaign – what did this involve?

As a charity, we are entirely self-funded, so we launched the Key to the Door fundraising campaign, with the goal of raising £150,000 to help fund our move and ensure our new Centre is as warm and welcoming as our current hub. Pickering supporters have been extremely generous and have organised a variety of different fundraisers to help us on our way – from quiz nights to sporting challenges – and we are very grateful for their support.

What fundraising goals do you have for 2026?

In addition to making changes to our new home to make it perfect for Pickering, we also need funds to continue running our new Centre, so fundraising continues to be very important. We are grateful to Waitrose in Crowborough for including us in its green token scheme in which we could receive up to £1,500. In addition to fundraising initiatives by supporters, we are also looking to organise some fundraisers ourselves over the next 12 months.

How supportive has the local business community been?

Over the years, we have received amazing support. This includes the guidance of Tom Lumsden, Commercial Property Partner at Cooper Burnett LLP. He and his team have provided legal support, for which we are truly grateful. In 2026, we want to work even more closely with corporates. For this reason, we recently launched the Pickering Partners scheme where, from as little as £50 a month, companies can support Pickering on an ongoing basis, as well as achieving their CSR and ESG goals. We’d love to talk to more businesses about that.

And finally, would you welcome new volunteers?

We are always interested in hearing from potential volunteers and trustees. As we move into our new Centre, we anticipate that we’ll also be looking for new therapists, perhaps providing therapies we haven’t had the space to offer our visitors previously.

The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre and Imago Community, have recently signed a transformational property deal… 

Two local charities have exchanged on a property deal that will enable them both to open the door on exciting plans for the future. 

The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre recently exchanged on 17-19 Monson Road, the building it hopes will become its new centre, only a few doors down from its current home. The building it has signed the paperwork on is the current home of charity Imago Community which, in turn, has cemented plans to move to a bigger building in Lamberhurst Vineyard. 

Pickering’s new building – double the size of the existing centre – will continue to provide a ‘warm and cosy hub’ for visitors, while offering the space for more quiet areas, as well as additional and accessible therapy rooms. In turn, Imago had out-grown its current location and needed a new head office to provide additional space for its expanding team, while remaining in the Tunbridge Wells borough. 

The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre exists for anyone impacted by cancer, as well as their friends and family. It is entirely self-funding, run solely by volunteers and relies on donations to survive. Last year around 2,500 people turned to Pickering for help and  support, with therapists providing 1,000 treatments, all of which is provided free of charge. This exciting move for Pickering, comes at a time when the charity is celebrating its 21st birthday. 

“When it comes to finding a property, location is key,” says David Bartholomew, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Pickering. “We love being based in the heart of Tunbridge Wells – so are delighted to have found our new centre…on our doorstep. At Pickering, we already work collaboratively with other local charities, so it feels special to not only be securing our future as a charity but seeing Imago do the same.” 

Angela Ward, Deputy Chair at Pickering adds: “Both charities now have a lot of work ahead of us and Pickering doesn’t expect to be in our new centre until at least the spring of 2026. But, we are thrilled to have exchanged and be in a position to start making plans for this  exciting next stage for our charity.” 

Imago Community is a social action charity offering a wide range of support services for people of all ages across Kent, Medway, East Sussex and London. Last year, the organisation celebrated 60 years of supporting individuals, families and communities to improve their health and wellbeing, creating positive change together. 

“After we exchanged on the building, we told our team that Pickering would be moving in and they were thrilled that another local charity would be using this space,” says Caroline Shaw, Chief Executive at Imago Community. 

David Bartholomew comments: “We couldn’t have done this without the assistance of Tom Lumsden and his colleagues at CooperBurnett LLP, who guided us expertly through the paperwork. Thank you to them all, as well as our Centre Manager, Caroline McGibney for helping to ease this transition. We will miss having Imago as our neighbour but wish them well in Lamberhurst.” 

While the Imago office staff will be making the move out to Lamberhurst, the Imago Charity Shop will continue to operate on Monson Road. 

To enable its move, The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre has launched The Key to the Door Fundraising Campaign to raise £150,000. 

The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre recently hosted its Picnic in the Park fundraiser in Calverley Grounds. Here we discover how the event went – and how much was raised for this popular local charity… 

 The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre headed to Calverley Grounds on June 21 for its most recent fundraiser. 

The event took place on the longest – and hottest – day of the year so far, and managed to raise a fantastic £669.37 for the charity’s Key to the Door campaign which will help fund its new larger premises later this year. 

The charity, which turns 21 in November, offered a delicious bowl of strawberries as part of the ticket price and many visitors enjoyed these with a glass of Pimms, while catching up with friends and family. 

According to a spokesperson for the  charity, Pickering Picnic in the Park was a hugely successful event. 

“We had so many people telling us what a lovely afternoon they’d had and how hard the volunteers had worked. Everyone enjoyed it. Lots of our Pickering family were there and made the most of the beautiful weather and great company.” 

The money raised will go towards the Pickering Key to the Door Fundraising Campaign – launched in order to raise £150,000 to help the charity move into a new and bigger centre in Tunbridge Wells. 

Last year around 2,500 people turned to The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre for help and support with therapists providing 1,000 treatments. 

Caroline McGibney, Centre Manager of the Pickering Drop-In Cancer Centre, added: “We love our current home but, over these past few years, we have really outgrown it. 

“It would be wonderful to have more space for our visitors and dedicated offices for our team, as well as additional – and more accessible – therapy rooms, so we can offer a wider variety of free treatments.” 

Please support the Pickering Key to the Door Fundraising Campaign: www.justgiving.com/campaign/keytothedoor 

The Exiles held their annual St George’s Day Lunch in aid of The Pickering Cancer Drop- In Centre at The Spa Hotel on Friday April 25. In the nine years the event has been running, the group of local business leaders have raised around £200,000 for the Tunbridge Wells charity that provides support to people with cancer, as well as their family and friends. The amount raised was an impressive £36,195.91 – the second highest amount ever made at the annual fundraising lunch. 

Chair of the Board of Trustees, David Bartholomew, thanked attendees for their support and shared news about the charity’s Key to the Door Fundraising Campaign – set up with the goal of raising £150,000 to support Pickering with the move to a new Centre in Tunbridge Wells as it celebrates its 21st birthday this year. Polly Taylor, co-founder of The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre, who recently retired from the charity, also thanked The Exiles for their incredible support over the years.

Cancer charity launches a fundraising appeal as it looks to expand and move into new home

The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre is celebrating its 21st birthday this year and – as tradition dictates – is hoping to get its very own ‘key to the door’ with new and larger premises in the heart of Tunbridge Wells. 

Named after the late local oncologist, Dr David Pickering, the drop-in centre provides a safe, friendly and homely space for anyone impacted by cancer, as well as their friends and family. It is entirely self-funding, run solely by volunteers and relies on donations to survive. 

Last year around 2,500 people turned to Pickering for help and support with therapists providing 1,000 treatments. And at Pickering everything is free of charge. 

The charity originally opened its doors at the Homeopathic Hospital in Tunbridge Wells in November 2004 and moved into its current home in Monson Road in July 2007. While that building has provided ‘a warm and cosy hub’ for its visitors since then, now is the time for Pickering to ‘come of age’ and move to a centre that is larger and more suitable to the needs of its visitors, as well as being more accessible. 

“We love our current home but, over these past few years, we have really outgrown it,” says Caroline McGibney, Centre Manager. “It would be wonderful to have more space for our visitors and dedicated offices for our team, as well as additional – and more accessible –  therapy rooms, so we can offer a wider variety of treatments.” 

A new Centre will help the charity to enter its next stage of life on a firm footing. For this to become a reality and for its visitors – and their friends and family – to continue benefiting from the support Pickering provides, the charity has set a goal of raising £150,000 during 2025. 

“At 21, now is the right time for us to come of age and make our next move,” says David Bartholomew, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “The new centre will be paid for, in part, by the sale of our existing Monson Road premises but we need these additional funds to enable Pickering to move into a new centre and transform it into a welcoming home. We are grateful to anyone who feels they can support us with our ‘Key to the Door’ appeal.” 

A new centre will enable Pickering to continue supporting visitors like Paul, who said recently: “This place is like a ‘great big cuddle’ when you really need it. And it’s not just the volunteers who support us; talking to other visitors makes a difference too. Everyone here is on their own personal journey but just sharing what we are going through together really helps.” 

“We are grateful to anyone who feels they can support us with our ‘Key to the Door’ appeal” – Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre Chair David Bartholomew 

Please support the Pickering Key to the Door Fundraising Campaign: www.justgiving.com/campaign/keytothedoor