PERSIMMON Homes, the UK's largest housebuilder, has announced it has chosen Marie Curie Cancer Care as its nominated charity during 2006.

Persimmon's 4,500 staff have already begun fundraising, with the organisation hoping to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for this worthy cause. Persimmon has a long history of fundraising for cancer charities, with Macmillan benefiting from nearly £300,000 back in 1998, while an enlarged Persimmon Group donated almost £500,000 to Breast Cancer Care in 2004.

Last year the regional companies backed charities closer to their own offices, with thousands raised across the UK for local causes. David Bryant, main board director of Persimmon Plc, said, "Every year we see thousands of families move happily into one of our homes, but statistics show that one in three of us will be affected by cancer at some time in our lives. While research is improving survival rates all the time, for some people that doesn't happen and Marie Curie Nurses provide invaluable care for people who want to remain in their own home, with their families, in the one place they feel most comfortable."

Activities already scheduled in include marathons, charity balls, golf days and participation in Marie Curie Cancer Care's Back to the Shop Floor initiative which Persimmon has also sponsored this year.