How would you react if your manager asked you to go and stand on a street corner in Brighton on a Saturday morning - in the name of charity of course.

As a member of the Sussex community fundraising team that organised 84 daffodil street collections on March 13 over the previous two months, I really could not say no.

So there I was, Saturday morning out in the sunshine, daffodil box strapped around my neck and collection tin suspended from my arm ready for action.

I felt quite proud that I was one of hundreds of volunteers throughout Sussex who had given up a couple of hours of their day to collect for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

I also took comfort in the fact that many colleagues were placed strategically around Brighton and Hove doing exactly the same.

I was not prepared for the insight into human behaviour that I gained. During the first five minutes abuse was hurled at me by a passer-by who, convinced I was being paid for my activities, called me a "charity prostitute".

I guess this is due to the high proportion of people who try to persuade us to sign up for a monthly direct debit.

Our 400 or so volunteers are not paid. Some have done it for more than ten years and not all of them are over 70.

I have spent seven years now working in the charity sector and I count myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such dedicated people.

It is sad the general public are becoming sceptical, believing that true philanthropy died after the spirit of the blitz. After all, no one does anything for nothing these days. Or do they? During these two hours I was not only a "fundraiser"/daffodil seller but a counsellor too.

Many passers-by stopped to give. While some walked by averting their eyes, others rummaged in the pocket but "had no change" and others just smiled.

Some chatted and told me of their experiences of cancer and how it had affected them or their loved ones while others seemed to be delighted to have the opportunity to stop and chat to someone who could listen. As a trained Samaritan (also unpaid), I was pleased I could provide an outlet for their problems.

I shall only be with my organisation for a few more weeks as I have decided to go to New Zealand for a few months but I will not forget the past three months and the people with whom I have had contact - above all, our volunteers .

Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to our collectors in Sussex for their work, to the volunteers who helped deliver the daffodils and to the public for their generosity on the day - and best of luck for next year. I shall wear my daffodil with pride in New Zealand in October.

-Amanda Scott, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Worthing