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Spike Elliott’s volunteering experience at the Hospice

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

The sky is the limit for RAF veteran Spike Elliott with his volunteering.

Helping others is a way of life for Spike whether carrying furniture or Christmas trees in aid of East Cheshire Hospice.

Such dedication does not end there.

Spike with wife Helen collecting trees.

Spike has been involved with the air cadets since 1997, the year he left the RAF after 22 years with the armed forces.

He said: “Next year will see me wearing the blue uniform for 50 years. I was an air cadet before joining the RAF in 1976.”

Spike then worked mainly for the Ministry of Defence before retiring two years ago.

That was his cue to get involved collecting and delivering furniture for the Hospice.

Spike (right) with Sgt Bill Martin after receiving their Platinum Jubilee and King’s Coronation medals.

Spike said: “I help on the furniture van every Thursday. We go all over and if the Hospice are short and I’m free I’ll do extra shifts.

“I suppose I can’t say no. I’m glad to help. My philosophy is that while I’ve got my health and while I can, why shouldn’t I try to help those less fortunate?

“I’d like to think that if I were in there, I’d know what’s going on outside to give me the best possible care.”

Spike and wife Helen, from Macclesfield, spent almost two years as St John Ambulance volunteers vaccinating during Covid.

Spike on the furniture round for East Cheshire Hospice.

Spike said: “We’d jump in our car and head off everywhere, often working double shifts. Some patients were in tears, not because the jabs hurt, but they were so relieved to get vaccinated.

“We did it because we could. You do someone a good turn if you can.”

The couple met through a love of walking and, coincidentally, both were serving in the RAF. They have a son James and granddaughter Ava-Jane, aged two.

Spike got his nickname in the RAF. He said: “Like all service personnel you get called something. My hair was a mess one day and someone called me Spike.

“Even Helen calls me Spike. She only called me by my given name once and that was the day we got married.”

Spike is Officer Commanding of 201 Macclesfield Squadron Air Training Corps.

He has helped with the Hospice tree collection since moving to the area in 2008.

As well as collecting trees on the weekend, he coordinates volunteers who deal with advertising banners and signs. * To offer good quality furniture email furniture@echospice.org.uk

Gary Morgan adds his Noddy Holder raffle prize to his memorabilia collections

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Slade fan Gary Morgan thought he was the victim of a prank when he got a phone call from   Noddy Holder, the glam rock group’s lead singer.

Noddy rang Gary to tell him he had won a papier mâché sculpture of the music legend.

It was the prize in a raffle run by East Cheshire Hospice where Noddy and wife Suzan are patrons.

Gary, a retired airport ground handling boss, said: “I thought it was a wind up when Noddy called.

Gary Morgan adds his Noddy Holder raffle prize to his Manchester City memorabilia.

“My wife and daughter had gone out shopping and I was sat on the sofa with my headphones on loading up Slade songs when my phone began vibrating in my pocket.

“I didn’t recognise the number and this voice said, ‘Hello Gary, it’s Noddy Holder here.’

“I thought it was a wind up, but I knew his voice and that it was really him.

“I was bowled over and couldn’t believe it when Noddy told me I’d won the raffle.”

Gary had seen Noddy on television promoting the competition.

Noddy Holder with the sculpture of himself. 

He said: “I’ve been a huge Slade fan all my life so my interest was piqued when I saw Noddy and his wife on BBC news one morning. At the end of the interview, they said raffle tickets were £10.

Gary said: “I bought two and didn’t think anything more about it. It didn’t matter whether I won or not as the money was for a good cause.”

The model has now pride of place in Gary’s living room.

He said: “It’s underneath my big TV in a Perspex case with a brass plate situated next to my Kevin De Bruyne signed boot and signed Manchester City ball.

“The model is fabulous. I’m amazed how someone can make a little sculpture look so like the character – it couldn’t be anyone but Noddy.

“I was telling Noddy how I skipped school in April 1974 to see Slade perform at Kings Hall in Manchester and he remembered that concert. I saw them perform three times.”

“It was a wonderful surprise to receive the call.”

The competition raised £10,200 for the Hospice.

Renowned artist Patty Callaghan created the sculpture of Noddy, complete with his guitar.

The work is called Cum on Feel The Noize, the title of the group’s No 1 record in 1973.

Fallibroome Academy raise over £7,000 for East Cheshire Hospice

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Fallibroome Academy has again earned top marks for its amazing support for East Cheshire Hospice.

The school raised £7,000 for the charity from its Jingle Jog before Christmas, bringing the total donated over the last eight years to an amazing £49,180.

The Fallibroome contribution helped raise £41,407 before Gift Aid from the Hospice’s latest Reindeer Rush in December. Some 29 schools were involved.

Under starter’s orders …students at Fallibroome Academy stage their Jingle Jog.

The Hospice has a special place in the hearts of everyone at Fallibroome after caring for one of the Academy’s late teachers.

Every pupil attending the last week of term defied bad weather to walk, run or jog round the athletics track at the nearby Everybody Macclesfield Leisure Centre.

PE teacher Lucy Bradley, one of four Academy community managers, said: “We hold several charitable initiatives in the year and the Hospice event is always our big one.

“We know of students’ parents and grandparents who’ve used the Hospice services, while students have also accessed its counselling services after relatives were treated there.

Head teacher Ross Martland in Santa outfit with Jennifer Dunn, assistant head of PE.   

“The Hospice ask students to raise at least £3 to cover the cost of envelopes and reindeer ears and we were astonished how much was donated. The average donation was probably £30.

“We thank everyone for their generous support. Parents and students appreciate what the Hospice does and why we need it.

“We hold assemblies for every year group to explain the different ways people use the Hospice. It is described as ‘a place where people come to live’ and we explain why to students.”

Mary Hindle’s fundraising success

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Delicious mince pies, mouth-watering cakes and endless cups of tea and coffee – the perfect recipe for fundraising for Mary Hindle and friends.

Selling Christmas cards has also been hugely successful for Mary who has raised almost £17,000 for charity over nearly two decades.

More than £12,000 of that total has been donated to East Cheshire Hospice where her late husband Ian (63) was a patient. The rest is split between cancer charities.

Mary will never forget the care and compassion the family received when Ian died in the Hospice in September 2011, four years after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Mary Hindle at home with her mince pies.

The HR consultant was treated by The Christie which has also benefitted from her donations, along with Macmillan and Cancer Research.

Mary, a retired teacher, holds a charity day every November at her home in Prestbury.

The event raised a record £2,020 last time when Mary again received help from friends Angie Entwistle, Carol Waters and Linda Richardson.

Mary said: “I couldn’t do it without them. I send out about 100 invitations by email in early October and we had about 80 guests last year between 10 am and 3 pm.

Mary (centre) makes her latest donation to East Cheshire Hospice staff.

“They buy Christmas cards supplied by the Hospice, eat cake, buy raffle tickets and cakes and put generous donations in the pot. Hospice staff come along to support.”

Mary, a member of The Tytherington Club, was busy making mince pies in the days before when she baked cakes with friends.

Mary said: “I make about 35 dozen mince pies to sell to friends for donations which go into the Hospice pot.

“The donations have increased over the years. It used to be a fiver but now people will often put in £15 or £20.

“Guests also like the Hospice Christmas cards and are happy to buy them.

“People feel as though they’re doing something for charity. Everyone has been touched by the Hospice or known someone with cancer.

“The day has turned into a lovely social occasion to which everyone is welcome. It’s an opportunity to meet friends old and new and buy early Christmas cards.

“While old friends have been supporting the day for years, there are always new acquaintances.

“My heart is with the Hospice because that’s where my husband spent his final three weeks.”

Mary has been a volunteer at the Hospice since 2016, helping on reception once a week.

A Christmas Tree reunion

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Retired science teacher Mike Thompson has a unique role in the history of the East Cheshire Hospice tree collection.

Back in 1998, he suggested giving fellow choristers at St Peter’s Church in Prestbury a £10 note to raise funds for a new organ.

The idea came from a sermon by Revd David Ashworth about the Parable of the Talents, a Bible story of how success is the product of work.

Mike said: “I was listening to the vicar because I like that story. The organ was going downhill and in desperate need of renovation.

“I told my late wife Lis that I was pondering the Talents story, especially as the church needed money. She said, ‘I know what you’re going to say.’

“I suggested giving all 30 of us choir members a tenner to see what we could do with it.

“If we could turn that into £600 then we were on our way to getting a new organ.

A reunion for (from left) Pete Chapman, Mike Thompson, Richard Raymond and Andy Chapman.

“No one came back with just £10. Money-making ideas included giving lifts, baby-sitting, washing cars, sewing and cooking.”

Andy Chapman, then a teenage member of the choir, relayed the story to his mum Heather who suggested collecting Christmas trees. The rest is history.

Some 25 years later more than £2m has been raised for the Hospice by countless volunteers after Andy’s dad Pete founded the scheme with Richard Raymond.

Both men were deservedly honoured with an award by Macclesfield’s Clare Hayward, the High Sheriff of Cheshire, after the latest collection.

Mike was head of science at Tytherington High School from 1970 and became acting deputy head, retiring in 1989 before joining Barracks Fabric Printers.

He made a nostalgic visit from his Anglesey home to join the tree celebrations.

He said: “I did collect in the early days going out on vans with the vicar’s son. It’s nice to be invited back each year and made to feel so welcome.

“Pete and Richard are dynamos – they make me tired just looking at them.

“I’m not surprised the collections have done so well. It’s directed from above – God moves in mysterious ways.”

Andy said: “I probably wanted to spend my £10 in a sweet shop but thankfully mum came up with a much better idea.

“Pete and Richard have made an incredible effort over the years and it’s good to be back for the 25th anniversary.”

A magical £2m for East Cheshire Hospice from collecting Christmas trees

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

We’ve made it!

Volunteers are celebrating raising a magical £2m for East Cheshire Hospice from collecting Christmas trees.

Appropriately, the milestone was reached during the 25th year of the scheme when around 7,200 trees were collected, raising more than £150,000.

Marshals (from left) Katherine Beswick, Annabel Hipkins, James Bunker, Karen McLoughlin, Howard Stringer and Richard Bunker.

Co-founder Richard Raymond said: “It was Sunday afternoon when a van brought in a tree which meant we had passed a total of £2m.

“It’s been a fantastic community effort by thousands of volunteers over many years. We can’t thank them enough for their amazing contribution.

Volunteers (from left) Gill Burgess, Gerti Cocker and Carol and Richard Waterhouse give driver Neil Osborne refreshments.

“This eye-watering sum has funded the care of patients, their families and carers.”

The latest collection was delayed for a week because of snow and ice, forcing Richard and co-founder Pete Chapman to hurriedly re-arrange plans.

Ready to go …volunteers set for the tree collection.

Richard said: “It was the right decision to postpone as we have a duty of care to our volunteers and didn’t want to risk injury.

“Out of our 250 volunteers, nearly 50 were unavailable for the new dates while some who couldn’t make it initially were then able to help.

“We managed to pull together a new rota after a massive amount of work.

Clive Acton (left) and Dave Newton collecting trees in Macclesfield.

“We want to thank our customers for their understanding and support, as well as sponsors, volunteers and Hospice staff who kindly accommodated the late change.”

A fleet of vans set off from the Hospice early on Saturday, among them a crew which included Clive Acton and Dave Newton, both from Macclesfield.

Staff from the Ansa recycling plant and Swift Tree Services mulched trees.

Clive works for HSBC which match-funded £500 of the collection.

Trees were recycled for biomass fuel after mulching at the Ansa recycling depot at West Park and Swift Tree Services in Adlington.

East Cheshire Hospice was once again the big winner from a golf day at Prestbury

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

East Cheshire Hospice was once again the big winner from a golf day at Prestbury.

The team event was won by printers Sphere UK, one of many generous supporters who raised a bumper £14,502 for the charity.

Sphere held off the challenge of 16 other teams to lift the prestigious Mactex Trophy.

The event, which has been running for 36 years, is the flagship competition on Prestbury’s charity golf calendar.

From left, Luke Hughes, Carley Macey, Nick Bianchi, Victoria Devon, Amanda Cross, John Davies and Nigel Preston.

Organisers were the tireless duo of John Davies, Director of Mactex Properties Ltd, and ex-golf professional Nigel Preston, from Interflex.

John’s involvement goes back to the first tournament. He said: “We had to postpone the event to another day due to rain, but the wait was well worthwhile.

“I’d like to thank our main sponsors, estate agents Holmes Naden, and other businesses and volunteers who helped us raise such a magnificent total.

“Supporters included Amanda Cross from Sphere UK, Victoria Devon, Paul and Nick Bianchi and Claire Gorton, Carley Macey, Luke Hughes and Sarah Elvin from the Hospice.

“Prestbury Golf Club are always wonderful hosts, boasting top class facilities and a course which is one of the finest in Cheshire.

“The Hospice need to raise £9,362 a day so the contribution from the golf day is a welcome addition to its funds.

“We’re aiming to make our 2025 golf day another big success.”

Swift Tree Services help out East Cheshire Hospice

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Every tree collected by East Cheshire Hospice volunteers this weekend (Jan 11-12) will be recycled for biomass fuel.

The Christmas trees will be transported to Adlington-based Swift Tree Services before they are taken to be turned into renewable energy.

This will be the third year of Swift’s involvement, with the tree specialists playing an increasing role – all at their own expense.

Swift machinery will be processing trees again ready for biomass fuel.

Most trees will still be mulched at the Ansa recycling depot at West Park by CRJ Services which will provide its resources for free as in previous years.

The mulch is then transported to the Swift site ready to start the biomass process.

Meanwhile, volunteers covering Poynton, Wilmslow and Bollington can take trees directly to Swift’s depot saving the journey to Macclesfield.

Swift will also send members of its seven-strong team to Disley to collect trees and chip them by the roadside.

Swift co-director Stephen Warner said: “Disley is a long way for the volunteers to go to back and forth and you don’t get many trees in a van to return to West Park.

Swift volunteers (from left) Adam Lawson, Stephen Warner and Ben Mason helping at last year’s collection.  

“We’ll look after Disley and by mobile-chipping can get it done in one trip.

“We wanted to be involved because broadly speaking it’s kind of what we do. We have trucks and woodchippers, we’re used to processing trees and it’s a brilliant charity to support.

“We offered our machinery and yard to see if we could help and it’s gone from strength to strength over a couple of years.

“Our location saves a lot of driving to West Park for mulching for some collections. They can bring the trees to us and we’ll chip them here.”

Woodchip is then sold for biomass fuel with proceeds donated to the appeal.

Stephen said: “It’s not mega money but the sale of woodchip will probably bring in between £1,500 and £2,000 to be added to the appeal and donated to the Hospice.

“It’s the 25th anniversary of the scheme and what co-founders Richard Raymond and Pete Chapman have achieved is incredible.

“Everyone knows about the Hospice’s wonderful work – we all know people whose loved ones have been cared for there.

“We’re delighted to be involved. Our team give their time for free, like all the volunteers.

“We only have a small role, but it’s lovely to be part of it. Community involvement is a hugely important part of our company culture.”

The gift of a £10 note made years ago will lead to a £2m for Christmas Tree Collection

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

The gift of a £10 note made years ago will lead to a £2m windfall for hospices next month.

That is a conservative estimate of the amount some 160 hospices will raise from their various Christmas tree collections over a single weekend.

The roots of this incredible story stem from the Chapman family whose idea and dedication has benefitted East Cheshire Hospice over the last 25 years.

In 1998, Andy Chapman, then 14, was given a tenner along with fellow choristers at Prestbury Church. Their mission was to raise funds for a new church organ.

Co-founders Pete Chapman (left) and Richard Raymond at the collection last January.

Dad Pete said: “It was up to the choir what to do with the money – use it, lose it but try to do something wise with it, as in the Bible’s Parable of the Talents.

“My wife Heather had a brainwave. She suggested taking our Christmas tree and those of our neighbours to the tip on our big garden trailer.

“It would save mess in the car, the £10 could pay for diesel and we’d see what was raised.

Pete Chapman’s sons James (left) and Chris collecting trees with Caitlin Howarth in 2022.

“It was Heather’s idea – I was just the poor husband who had to implement it! We put leaflets through doors and the phone started ringing after Christmas.

“We also decided to support another charity, raising £370 for both the church fund and the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust. My employers Barclays match-funded donations.

“A Wallace and Gromit notebook contained random addresses and we drove round Bollington and Prestbury with our four sons strapped in the back of the car.

“The idea took off. People couldn’t believe how much we raised and I thought ‘we’re onto something here.’

“The next year Richard Raymond pitched up with a company truck and we advertised it more widely, collecting more trees.

“Chorister John Nichol knew the area like the back of his hand and helped with routing and mapping.

“John suggested supporting the Hospice on an ongoing basis. His mother had been a patient and the team were right behind him.

“We had lots of enthusiastic support and since then it’s grown every year. Other hospices started to catch on and we’ve encouraged them.

“I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since the hospice became the sole beneficiary. It’s flown. I can’t believe where we’ve come from and got to.

“It’s beyond our wildest dreams. It’s amazing to think that well over £2m will be collected in one weekend across the country, involving more than 2,000 volunteers.”

Local customers have loyally supported Christmas Tree Collection for 25 years!

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Dozens of customers have loyally supported the Christmas tree collection throughout its 25-year association with East Cheshire Hospice.

They are among more than 6,000 subscribers who will hopefully register again for the next collection on January 11 and 12 via www.echtrees.org.uk

The deadline is midnight on Tuesday, January 7.

Volunteers prepare for the 2020 tree collection.

Meanwhile, some of the 278 volunteers on the scheme’s database have helped since almost the start.

Co-founders Richard Raymond and Pete Chapman have overseen major changes over the years.

Pete said: “We’re a lot more advanced these days with hi-tec routing, mapping, social media and online payments.

“People had to put money in a plastic bag on trees until a few years ago. They also register online, whereas it used to be phone calls and messages.

“A van can now collect up to 200 trees a day, twice as many as before.”

Pete’s son Andy, an occupational therapist, introduced spreadsheets using Microsoft Works as part of a school project while studying IT.

The advent of green wheelie bins saw a potential threat become an opportunity.

Recycling trees at West Park depot.

Macclesfield Council backed the scheme, advertising on bins rather than encouraging homeowners to use them to recycle trees.

Crucially, other hospices tap into Pete and Richard’s expertise. Pete said: “We’ve documented everything we do, building a database accessed by more than 50 hospices. We collaborate and want everyone to run a successful collection.

“It means the system will live forever. Richard and I can’t do it forever, so we’ve created a library to hand on to our successors.

“We must thank our supporters, including local businesses, a lot of whom want to give anonymously.

“It means a lot to me that we also help volunteers whatever their physical ability. We’ll always find a role for them.

“We don’t just bring income to the Hospice. We also raise awareness in the local community, drawing in volunteers, encouraging recycling and attracting young people to the Hospice.

“There are more benefits than we ever dreamt of. The Hospice know year on year they’re going to get this money from the collection.

“It has done a fantastic job setting up Hospice @Home and we’d like to think we’ve played a small part by raising awareness of the Hospice.

“No-one had ever thought of a tree collection until we did – it came from one spark of a great idea. The scheme’s success gives us enormous pride.”

* Organisers still need large vans for the forthcoming collection. To help, contact 01625 433477 or email luke.oldham@echospice.org.uk

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