{"id":8242,"date":"2021-08-12T10:06:38","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T10:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=8242"},"modified":"2021-08-12T10:23:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T10:23:20","slug":"changing-lives-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/12\/changing-lives-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Touching Hearts, Changing Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Marie Nicholsby, Reading graduate and founder of Alkionides UK<\/a> \u2013 a life-changing charity that supports Cypriot citizens undergoing critical medical treatment in the UK \u2013 talks to CONNECTED about what inspired her to set up the charity, and why she believes in supporting students at the University of Reading.  <\/span><\/p>\n

In 1996 a little girl in Cyprus called Stefania was born with a congenital heart condition, and she needed specialist treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital to save her life.<\/p>\n

The Cypriot government covered the costs of the private medical treatment, however the family were expected to pay for their accommodation and living costs whilst their daughter was undergoing treatment \u2013 sadly they were unable to afford this.<\/p>\n

Marie said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis family were heartbroken and our community wanted to do something to help, so we decided to organise an afternoon tea to raise enough money to cover the accommodation and living costs while the family were in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It was this very moment that inspired Marie and her friends to set up her first charity, Alkionides Cyprus<\/a>, which she launched in 1998. The charity not only supports patients and their families with their accommodation and living costs, but also provides other essential services such as transport, translators and moral support \u2013 which are delivered by an amazing team of volunteers.<\/p>\n

Marie explains the meaning behind the charity\u2019s name: \u201cAccording to Greek mythology \u2018Alkionides\u2019 are the Halcyon days \u2013 the calm, bright days in the midst of winter that the gods gave to the kingfishers to enable them to hatch their eggs on the rocks. Similarly, we hope to brighten the lives of families facing desperate times and bring them some relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new direction<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Marie\u2019s journey in the UK began at the University of Leeds where she studied chemical sciences and met her husband, Dr Alan Nicholsby, who later studied for a PhD at Reading in soil science.<\/p>\n

\"\"Marie said: \u201cWhen we returned to Reading in 2005 I saw the Continuing Education courses advertised at the University. I decided I wanted to study something completely different so I signed up to the Postgraduate Diploma in History of Art and Architecture, which completely changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from Reading, Marie volunteered at the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology<\/a> and the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)<\/a>, before securing a part-time job at the MERL where she enjoyed being a tour guide for the next seven years.<\/p>\n

During this time Marie developed a passion for museums, and that, together with her determination to continue to help change people\u2019s lives inspired her to start offering tours of museums and art galleries across London and Oxford, in exchange for a donation to her charity \u2013 Alkionides UK<\/a> \u2013 which was founded in 2008.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI kept in touch with all of the teachers and friends that I had made at Reading, and in 2010 I invited them on a heritage tour of all the museums and art galleries in Cyprus. Six more tours followed \u2013 these tours not only grew our friendships but they also raised a lot of money for my charity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2014 the charity expanded and Alkionides UK Birmingham & Midlands<\/a> was launched \u2013 who specifically support Cypriot patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Cypriot families with children who have special needs.<\/p>\n

Alkionides UK<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Marie said: \u201cThe charity started with a promise \u2013 to make sure that as much money as possible goes towards the patients\u2019 needs and not into the charity\u2019s administration or staff costs.<\/p>\n

\n

“We rely entirely on volunteers who selflessly dedicate their time to help families in need.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also fortunate to have very generous Cypriot sponsors working at Capital Group. In 2015 I invited them to meet one of our patients \u2013 an 11-year-old boy who had osteosarcoma \u2013 a tumour in his leg. Sadly, he needed an amputation and ended up having a prosthetic leg fitted.<\/p>\n

\n

“The family stayed in London for a year and with the help of our sponsors, the charity provided him with support from two volunteers \u2013 a psychologist and a Greek teacher. We still help this family when they come over to the UK for follow-up appointments \u2013 our patients become like family to us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOur sponsors were shocked to see what the family had gone through. Their yearly donation covers a lot of our patients\u2019 costs. When we first started the charity we used to book hotel accommodation, but with their help we have been able to rent a four-bedroom house which we call \u2018The Nest\u2019 in Finsbury Park, London.\u201d<\/p>\n

The charity\u2019s sponsors are now encouraging them to buy a house in London, and along with the help of their supporters the charity are currently fundraising to try and reach this target.<\/p>\n

Helping others<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When asked how it made her feel to help others, Marie said: \u201cIt gives you a great sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\n

“We don\u2019t ever expect our patients to give back \u2013 we help them because we want to \u2013 it\u2019s the best feeling in the world when they get better and can return home.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cA lot of families can\u2019t afford to give us a donation, but they choose to help us in other ways \u2013 for example, some bring us homemade cakes and halloumi cheese, they make things for our patients like crafts, or volunteer to be translators.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud of what we\u2019ve managed to achieve but this wouldn\u2019t have been possible through the efforts of one, two or ten people. It\u2019s down to the dedication of all of our volunteers who put a huge amount of time and effort into making this charity a success.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Supporting students<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Marie and her husband are both long-standing University donors and Friends of the University of Reading<\/a>, who have supported our students for a number of years. Last year they supported a Reading student \u2013 through Marie\u2019s charity \u2013 who was in the final year of his PhD.<\/p>\n

She explained: \u201cThis brilliant student had a scholarship from the University but his family were very poor and were struggling to help him with his accommodation costs.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI approached the student and offered him support. Initially he refused, but I knew just how badly he needed it. In the end he accepted our support, completed his PhD and was recently offered a job at the University of Southampton.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAfter receiving help he wanted to give something back, so he started to call one of our patients at \u2018The Nest\u2019 who has been waiting for a liver transplant for two years. Three of the family\u2019s four children inherited the genetic disease \u2013 amyloidosis \u2013 from their mother. They now speak every week and have become really good friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult as we can\u2019t support many students financially through our charity, but if we could help more we would. Over the years the Cypriot and Hellenic Society at the University have arranged football matches, sold our merchandise and organised other fundraising activities for our charity.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFundamentally, we support students at Reading because we believe in them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Continuing the legacy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When asked about her aspirations for the future, Marie said: \u201cAs much as I would love to do this forever, we want the future to be embraced by the younger generation and encourage them to continue to deliver our work to those in need.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI hope one day my dynamic young team, including my son, will continue the legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Find out more about Alkionides UK<\/a>, or how you can get involved and support students at the University of Reading<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marie Nicholsby, Reading graduate and founder of Alkionides UK \u2013 a life-changing charity that supports Cypriot citizens undergoing critical medical treatment in the UK \u2013 talks to CONNECTED about what inspired her to set up the charity, and why she believes in supporting students at the University of Reading.   In 1996 a little girl […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":8262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,123,64,22,28,34,73,72,103,112,62,131,47],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTouching Hearts, Changing Lives - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marie Nicholsby, Reading graduate and founder of a life-changing charity shares why she supports students at the University of Reading.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/08\/12\/changing-lives-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Touching Hearts, Changing Lives - 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