NNGF Charity and Fundraising

The Norma N Gill Foundation: Bringing a better quality of life to people with ostomy, wound and continence needs around the world

The Norma N. Gill Foundation was formally inaugurated in 1980 at the WCET Congress in Cleveland to honour the founder of the WCET, Norma N Gill. In 1996, as a result of years of work by various executive members, the WCET / NNGF was awarded charitable status in the UK.

More recently the NNGF was recognised by the Internal Revenue Service of the USA as an entity within the WCET, and therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

The mission of the NNGF is to raise funds for nursing scholarships to further Enterostomal Therapy Nursing education throughout the world and help establish Enterostomal Therapy Nursing care where services are non-existent. The WCET encourages members to apply for NNGF scholarships where suitable.

Would you like to make a donation to the NNGF?

More information on NNGF scholarships.

More about Norma N Gill

Norma N. Gill (1920-98), the world's first Enterostomal Therapist (ET), was an extraordinary person. Despite being afflicted with a life-threatening and incapacitating illness, she found the strength to look beyond her own situation to recognise the needs of others in similar circumstances.

Norma firmly believed that ostomy surgery should be a stepping stone to an improved quality of life rather than a sentence to a life of depression, isolation, rejection, and shame. She devoted her life to revolutionizing ostomy care.

Norm N Gill was a leader with vision, creativity and innovation. As the founder and first President of the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET) she is internationally acknowledged as the first Enterostomal Therapist in the world.

The Norma N Gill Foundation was created in her honour under the auspices of the WCET to recognize Norma's life work in the field of Enterostomal Therapy (ET) and her dedication to helping others.

Our patients

As Enterostomal Therapy Nurses, we look after people with ostomy, wound or continence needs, regardless of their age.

Our patients come from all walks of life. Illness is no respecter of persons. Even Pope Jean-Paul II, following the attempt on his life, once had an ostomy.

Having a stoma does not prevent people from living a full and active life. For instance, a Dutch doctor, who has an ileostomy, spent eight days rafting down a white water river on the East slope of the Peruvian Andes. An American footballer continued to enjoy his favourite sport even after ostomy surgery.

Thanks to the care and professional advice of Enterostomal Therapy Nurses, and modern pouching systems, an ostomy will no longer prohibit people to survive illness and go on to lead a full and normal life.

Help us to continue to help our patients!