A DECADE ago, 11-year-old Stacie Carrey was the face of the Evening Times' groundbreaking fundraising initiative, the Maggie's Appeal.

Recovering from the death of her mother and her own battle with leukemia, the little girl from Bridge of Weir won the hearts of our readers, who raised more than a £1m to build the cancer care charity's first Glasgow centre.

Now 22 and mum to two-year-old Adrian, Stacie – along with Maggie's chief executive Laura Lee and former fundraiser Carys Winship – caught up with Ann Fotheringham to explain why the Evening Times' campaign meant so much.

STACIE CARREY (Face of the appeal and cancer survivor):

EVERY newspaper cutting brings a fresh groan from Stacie Carrey. "What on earth was I wearing?" she wails. "And what's going on with my hair?"

The 22-year-old from Bridge of Weir is soon smiling, though, as she spots a picture of herself throwing £50 notes around in the vaults of a Glasgow bank.

"That was really cool," she nods. "I'd never seen so much money in my whole life."

Stacie was 11 when she won the hearts of Evening Times' readers as the face of our Maggie's Appeal in 2002.

The charity was founded by Maggie Jencks, who died of cancer in 1995. She wanted to create a place for cancer patients, and their families, which worked alongside the health service to tackle the non-medical issues of the disease, like financial problems and emotional wellbeing.

The charity's first centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and Evening Times' readers raised more than £1million – double our original target – to build the first Glasgow centre.

Pictured with a bunch of bright blue forget-me-nots, symbolising love, remembrance and fighting spirit, Stacie's face was soon appearing on billboards, buses and posters across the city.

She helped Kirsty Wark sell flowers at a fundraising open day, posed with giant balloons when we hit a quarter of a million and took part in the centre's opening celebrations.

When we first met her, she was recovering from a 10-month battle with leukaemia. She had been diagnosed shortly after the death of her mum, Isobel, from breast cancer.

Her dad, Robert, 55, a plumber at the shipyards, and big sister Margaret, said a Maggie's Centre would have been a godsend for their family and they were delighted to back the appeal.

"I have lots of fond memories of doing the appeal. At the time, we'd all just been through something really horrible and Maggie's would have really helped us," says Stacie, back at the Gatehouse for the first time since the opening 10 years ago.

Stacie went on to study beauty therapy and hairdressing at college before leaving her studies to bring up baby Adrian, who will be three in November.

"It's hard work but I love being a mum," she says. "I always wanted to be a nurse, though, so I'm thinking of going back to college to do that when Adrian goes to school."

She still visits hospital for a yearly blood check, but is in good health. And she loved revisiting the Gatehouse.

"It's lovely here," she says. "It makes a difference to be able to come somewhere like this. When you have cancer, you need all the support you can get."

CARYS WINSHIP (Maggie's employee):

CARYS joined Maggie's at the start of the Evening Times appeal as a community fundraiser.

"I was amazed by how quickly the people of Glasgow responded to the campaign," she smiles.

"People would turn up at our office, which was in West Campbell Street at the beginning, before the Gatehouse was rebuilt, handing in bags of cash.

"And Evening Times' readers did so much. I spoke to people who wanted to cycle to America for us, or abseil off tall buildings – it was incredible."

Carys, who lives in Glasgow with her husband Gordon and five-year-old son Michael, is now staff and resources manager for Maggie's, overseeing all 140 staff across the UK from her base in Waterloo Street.

But she admits she still has a soft spot for the Gatehouse.

"Every time I come in here I am struck by how friendly and reassuring it is," she smiles.

"Some of the faces may have changed but the standard of care and the warmth of its welcome has stayed the same.

"Glasgow needs Maggie's, probably even more than it did 10 years ago, as people are living longer with cancer.

"People in the city, spurred on by the Evening Times' campaign, have really taken ownership of this centre and that's fantastic."

LAURA LEE (Maggie's chief executive):

LAURA was Maggie Jencks's oncology nurse, and shared her vision for the charity from the start.

She is full of praise for the Evening Times' appeal.

"Because of the campaign, people came to the centre," she explains.

"Glasgow was the platform that enabled us to grow and help people around Scotland and beyond.

"It was a privilege to work not just with the newspaper, but with the Beatson Oncology Centre, because it was the biggest cancer centre in Scotland.

"It meant we were in a position to make a real difference to many people whose lives were affected by cancer.

"Now it's seen as perfectly normal that after a cancer diagnosis, you can access information and financial help and benefit from psychological support. Ten years ago, that was a radical way of thinking and the Evening Times' appeal helped introduce that to people.

"And it's a great tribute to the newspaper and to the city that Glasgow took up the concept and ran with it.

"I am always astounded by what people will do to help others and the appeal was a great example of that."

Now Maggie's has 15 centres open or under development across the UK and abroad. Last year, around 92,000 people in Britain visited its centres.

Laura would not be drawn on whether Glasgow could have a third Maggie's Centre in the future but indicated that supporting people all over the city was the charity's priority.

"Once our Lanarkshire centre is complete (work is due to begin at the end of the year) our focus will certainly be on ensuring we're not considered 'one-sided' when it comes to Glasgow," she says.

"There are big developments happening at the Southern General, and we are keen to ensure people in the south of the city can access Maggie's if they need it."

Laura believes Maggie Jencks would have been delighted to see what Maggie's has achieved.

"She would have been pleased that so many people now have access to the kind of support she felt was missing through her treatment," says Laura. "I think she would have been very proud."