Fundraising Archives - Page 14 of 29

Sahara Trek Postponed

Posted on 4th August 20213rd August 2021 by Becky Sidwell

East Cheshire Hospice has been forced to postpone its Saharan trek again because of Covid-19. On-going uncertainty over international travel restrictions left organisers with no option but to delay the adventure until November 2022.

It was initially put back until this coming winter but a decision has been made to delay until Nov 12-19 next year. Places are still available for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which involves scaling Moroccan sand dunes and camping under the stars. A four-day 50 kilometre trek ends with a two-day stop in Marrakech to assist with a community project.

The trip costs £1,320, including a £325 registration fee payable at the time of booking to secure a place. Participants will then be required to fundraise a minimum of £1,990 for the Hospice. Support and fundraising ideas will be provided by staff to help meet the target. Contact Bethan Wade on 01625 665691 or email bwade@echospice.org.uk to find out more.

Challenge Co-ordinator Bethan said: “We’re sorry to have to delay the trek again, but I’m sure it’ll be a fabulous experience when it does finally take place. “The travel team will ensure all safety measures are put in place and we can offer ideas and inspiration on fundraising.”

Contact Bethan Wade on 01625 665691 or email bwade@echospice.org.uk to find out more.

Trekkers include accounts assistant Rob Gorton who has been undertaking a series of fundraising challenges in aid of the charity this year.

Rob Gorton who is taking part in a Saharan trek in aid of East Cheshire Hospice.

Joan’s Sunflower Donations Continue to Blossom

Posted on 28th July 2021 by Luke Brightmore

A simple sunflower seed has led to a thriving fundraising venture for Joan Edwards to honour her son-in-law’s memory.

When Liam Ward was in the care of East Cheshire Hospice in 2018, his wife Michaela bought a packet of seeds from the Hospice reception area.

Liam died of sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, aged 34 and the sunflower is the Hospice emblem.

Joan has grown the sunflowers in her greenhouse since her daughter gave her the seeds, raising £810 for the Hospice in return for a £1 donation for each flower.

Joan said: “Michaela isn’t green fingered and asked me to grow them. It started as a bit of fun between the family and grandchildren.

“I took the seeds from the head of my biggest sunflower and dried them over the first winter before planting them again and selling 450 last year.

“It wasn’t quite as popular this year, but it doesn’t make any difference how much, or how many. It’s my way of giving back to the Hospice for what they did for Liam and the help they gave him, Michaela and their two boys.

“I advertise on Facebook and lot of people buy them who’ve probably faced a similar situation in their lives. It’s become popular and friends now look forward to it each year.”

Joan also grows lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes and runner beans in her back garden.

Joan Edwards at home in her greenhouse.

Play Our Lottery!

Posted on 21st July 2021 by Luke Brightmore

Organisers of the East Cheshire Hospice lottery are appealing for new members to raise much-needed funds.

Income has dropped over the last 18 months with door-to-door collections suspended during Covid-19, along with charity shop recruitment.

The lottery generates £324,000 a year which pays for three days of care each week in the Hospice’s Sunflower Centre.

Tickets are still only £1 with a weekly jackpot of £1,000, plus 22 other cash prizes, including a second prize of £200, which can rollover.

Of the £1 entry, 72p goes directly to fund patient care. The lottery has more than 6,000 members and has been going since 1995, raising around £4.5m.

Lottery manager Carol Frain said: “We’d love to get new members but haven’t been able to do any recruitment because of the pandemic.

“We haven’t increased the ticket price and are cheaper than many other lotteries. You don’t just play to win, you’re also giving someone with a life-limiting illness the support they need.”

Some jackpot winners, including a volunteer, have donated winnings to the Hospice which needs to raise at least £7,500 a day to keep going.

Winners are drawn randomly each Friday and results published on the Hospice website and in the Macclesfield Express.

Entry at £4.34 a month can be via direct debit, debit card or cheque. Scratch cards are also available.

* To join visit eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/support/lottery or call 01625 433477 (Ext 2).

Lottery organisers Carol Frain (left) and Celia Stanley.

Heather Broadbent Update

Posted on 21st July 2021 by Luke Brightmore

Sailor Heather Broadbent is refusing to give up on her round-the-world voyage despite a two-year gap at home.

She was midway through the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race before it was suspended early last year because of Covid-19.

The event is due to resume in the Philippines next February, although Heather admits she had serious misgivings about completing the race and thought long and hard about going back.

She hopes to raise £40,000 for East Cheshire Hospice where her late husband Adam (45) was a patient.

Heather said: “After a difficult year of low and lonely times, I’ve really struggled with my mental health and I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to continue with my round-the-world challenge for the Hospice.

“Only in the last few weeks with the support and encouragement of my family have I realised that I’m still strong and capable and I can finish what I started over three years ago when I first signed up for the 40,000 mile race and a £40,000 challenge.”

Heather, a landscape gardener, will possibly enter the record books for competing in the longest round-the-world race in history.

An event that should have taken 11 months saw some competitors drop out because of the lengthy delay. It is now due to finish almost three years after its start date in September 2019.

Heather, from Disley, said: “It was a difficult decision to consider going back. During the first lockdown, I only thought I’d be home for two or three months and that was my mind set.

“I was still in the zone then but being stuck at home has been tough mentally and it’s been hard getting my head back into gear thinking about resuming.

“However, I’d kick myself if I didn’t try to finish it. It’s not in my nature not to complete something.”

Heather is meeting other crew members in London this month before attending a refresher course. Her team yacht GoToBermuda has been stuck in Asia since she left.

Heather said: “The plan was to circumnavigate the globe in one go and the long break in the middle is a huge disappointment. I’m nervous I’ve forgotten what to do.”

Heather has already raised more than £29,000 for the Hospice’s Hospice @Home service. “I’ve been stuck around that mark for a while but I’m determined to meet my target.”

* To sponsor Heather visit justgiving.com/fundraising/dreamitnowdoit.

Heather Broadbent on her voyage.

Corporate Challenge Raises £13,533 for Hospice Bereavement Services

Posted on 14th July 202118th January 2022 by Luke Brightmore

A bumper sum of £13,533 raised in the Corporate Challenge run by East Cheshire Hospice will help fund the Hospice’s bereavement services.

Firms had to raise as much as possible from a £100 start-up loan during May.

The proceeds will provide much-needed support to expand a bereavement service in greater demand because of Covid-19.

Corporate Fundraiser Chrissie Hunter said: “It’s been a tough 18 months for businesses so to raise such an impressive amount is incredible.

“We want to thank everyone for their ideas and efforts to make it happen, including those who generously supported fundraising initiatives.”

Clear winners of the fun competition were Kuehne+Nagel with £6,008, while the prize for the most creative team went to Equilibrium Financial Planning with a nine million step challenge from Manchester to the Equator.

Raffles and wine tasting also contributed towards their donation of £2,621. Not far behind were recruitment firm Leap 29 with ideas including a doggy day care and a three peaks challenge.

Highlights for Spirit Medical Communications included a movie quiz and Eurovision sweepstake.

Chess ICT filled tubes of Smarties with coins as part of their commitment, while staff at Pan European Networks ran a 5k and held a bingo lunch hour in their month of fundraising.

Kuehne+Nagel’s Corporate Challenge in Memory of Neil Robinson

Posted on 14th July 2021 by Luke Brightmore

Friends and colleagues of Neil Robinson raised a toast to his memory with a drop of gin, his favourite tipple.

Drink and cakes were sold by colleagues at global logistics company Kuehne+Nagel where Air Logistics Commercial Director Neil spent his entire career.

It was part of a fundraising challenge, which raised £6,008 in just one month for East Cheshire Hospice where Neil, from Macclesfield, died of cancer in 2019, aged 53.

Neil Robinson with his favourite drink of gin.

Former team-mates at Bollington Cricket Club, family and friends, plus Hospice staff placed online orders to support the venture.

Close friend Gareth Prosser, National Operational Care Manager in the same section, organised Kuehne+Nagel’s involvement in a Corporate Challenge run by the Hospice.

Gareth said: “Neil was universally loved by colleagues up and down the country and had a positive impact on everyone he met.

“His family were delighted that we remembered him this way. They’re a very close family and every minute at the Hospice was precious for them, allowing them to make the most of that time together.

“As soon as Neil’s name is attached to a fundraising event everyone jumps on it, especially when it means all they have to do is eat, drink, be merry and reminisce!

“His favourite drink was gin so we ordered bottles with a bespoke flavour from Inspirited Gin, and then decided to add beer and cakes to the offering to appeal to all tastes.

“Inspirited kindly gave us discount on the gin, postage and also matched the profit from the gin, a donation worth about £600.

“Brewhouse and Kitchen gave a reduced rate for beer, while Biscotti Box supplied boxes of brownies and blondies.”

Over 75 bottles of gin were sold, along with 100 boxes of brownies and 50 kegs of beer with orders coming from as far south as Cornwall and as north as Scotland.”

A signed limited edition vinyl record donated by Manchester band The Slow Readers Club also raised £200 in a raffle.

The Hospice was invited to address almost 200 colleagues at a Kuehne+Nagel drop-in virtual meeting.

Hospice representatives spoke about the care it provides free of charge to patients in the community with life-limiting illnesses.

The meeting was attended by Kuehne+Nagel’s Managing Director Brian Cox who fully supported the fundraising activity and helped take the total to more than £6,000.

Kuehne+Nagel staff (from left) Gareth Prosser, Matthew Barton, Tim Webb and Matthew Brett.

Gritstone Trail Challenge is Especially Poignant for Mike and Sam

Posted on 7th July 2021 by Luke Brightmore

Relief at ending a gruelling charity walk turned to sadness for fitness enthusiasts Mike Mason and Sam Maguire.

The day after the pair had completed the 35-mile Gritstone Trail they learned that Faith Mitchell, wife of their close friend Ash, had died of cancer sarcoma, aged 33.

Faith was a patient at East Cheshire Hospice and was the inspiration behind their challenge which has already raised more than £2,500 for the Hospice.

Mike is head coach at Silk Fitness Therapy which is part of the Hospice’s 500 Club in which members pledge to raise £500 a year for three years.

Mike said: “We heard the tragic news about Faith on the afternoon following our walk which became quite poignant in the end.

“Faith’s illness was diagnosed three years ago and she fought until the end. She’ll be missed terribly and was well looked after by the Hospice.”

Silk gym owners Fabio and Kate Mazzieri and nutritionist Bex Ward joined the pair for the second half of the walk.

The hilly journey from Disley to Kidsgrove took more than 14 hours and is usually spread over three days.

Fellow gym member Carole Barough accompanied Mike and Sam for the first leg of the trip.

Mike said: “It was tough, especially as it was a hot day, but good fun. I realised early on my bag was too heavy and luckily gym members Fran Wilkie and Jo Prescott met us and took some things to lighten the load.

“Sam has done a lot of cycling and has lots of stamina, but neither of us has walked that far before and it was quite surreal near the end.

“We didn’t have much more to give, but knowing Fabio had a cool box full of cold beers in his car at the finish got us through it.

“Faith was our main motivation for the challenge, but Silk is also a proud member of the 500 Club so that was another reason to raise funds.”

* To sponsor them visit justgiving.com/fundraising/SFT.

Journey’s end….from left, Katie and Fabio Mazzieri, Sam Maguire, Mike Mason and Bex Ward after completing the Gritstone Trail.

Local Hens Eggschange their Produce for Donations

Posted on 7th July 202130th June 2021 by Luke Brightmore

It’s no yoke – eggs are a cracking way to raise money for East Cheshire Hospice.

Schoolgirl Freya Eeles (11) discovered that by selling them outside her step mum’s home in Hallefield Crescent, Macclesfield.

A dozen hens kept on land behind the house work overtime and with a suggested donation of 10p an egg which goes into an honesty box almost £200 has been raised for the Hospice.

A WhatsApp group alerts neighbours when fresh supplies are ready for collection.

Step mum April Smith said: “Freya loves the hens and our two pygmy goats and helps clean them out and feed them.

“My partner Mark gets up at 5 am every day to let the hens out and waters and feeds them.

“The neighbours love the eggs for breakfast and we want to thank the whole neighbourhood for supporting us.

“The Hallefield area is a brilliant community and everyone who lives here says the same thing. We wouldn’t want to live anywhere else and we’re all there for each other.

“We’re friends as well as neighbours.”

Freya with one of her hens called Gladys.

Wing Walk Takeoff Delayed

Posted on 30th June 2021 by Luke Brightmore

A Wing Walk has had to be delayed five weeks in the latest blow to East Cheshire Hospice’s fundraising plans.

Bad weather was one of the reasons the challenge was put back until Monday, July 26.

A rise in Covid infections leading to Cheshire East being made an ‘enhanced response area’ was another factor.

The event, which sees wing walkers harnessed on top of a 1940s Boeing Stearman biplane, is fully subscribed.

The postponement adds to the tension for participants, including five grandmothers, the eldest of whom Barbara Spivey (74) runs a fancy dress shop on Chestergate.

Wing Walk grannies …from left, Pam Webster, Gill Black, Jacky Macleod and Barbara Spivey.

The effects of Covid-19 have badly affected plans by the Hospice fundraising team whose last mass participation event was a Tough Woofer dog walk in October, 2019.

That means there will be a two-year gap until the next event, a Drive-in Cinema at Capesthorne Hall, on Sunday, October 17.

A Memory Miles walk due in August has now been shelved until March 25 next year.

Events Manager Beth Candy said: “We’re pretty confident the cinema event will go ahead. It’s been such a frustrating time for our supporters and losing so many events has wrecked our fundraising plans.

“We’d appeal to anyone who can raise funds for the Hospice to please support us in whatever way they can. The last 18 months have been so tough and the sooner we’re back to normal the better.

“Any donations, large or small, will much such a huge difference to the care of our patients.”

The wing walk facing Hospice fundraisers.

Memory Walk Postponed Again

Posted on 30th June 2021 by Luke Brightmore

East Cheshire Hospice has been forced to postpone its Memory Miles walk yet again because of the Covid crisis.

The new date is Friday, March 25, 2022, at Adlington Hall – almost three years after the Hospice last staged its flagship memory walk.

The August 27 event has been postponed reluctantly, amid on-going uncertainty over the easing of lockdown restrictions.

The absence of mass participation events is a major financial blow to the Hospice.

The next event is a Drive-in Cinema on Sunday, October 17, at Capesthorne Hall, where the charity’s last fundraising event, a Tough Woofer dog walk, took place two years ago.

Organisers are hoping it will be a case of fifth time lucky for the Memory Walk which was cancelled twice in 2020 (April and September) and twice in 2021 (May and August).

Events Manager Beth Candy said: “We’re very sad to keep having to cancel these events, but when we do eventually stage our next one and all get back together again it’s going to be bigger and better and more amazing than ever before.

“The memory walk is extra special to us because it’s a celebration of lost loved ones. It’s an event we get most sponsorship from because of its very nature.”

Walkers enjoying the memory walk two years ago.

The Hospice had delayed accepting registrations until the government made its most recent announcement to put back the final easing of lockdown restrictions.

Beth said: “People would have had mixed emotions about us launching an event in the current circumstances with restrictions in place, even though we’d probably have been out of those restrictions by the time the walk came round.

“But we want to make sure there aren’t going to be any restrictions and don’t have to cap the numbers taking part. Unfortunately, there was the potential for that to be the case.

“We want to be confident we can do it and want everyone to be confident they can attend.

“We’re looking forward to seeing everyone coming together again in March and want to thank everyone for their loyalty, patience and understanding.”

The Memory Walk, formerly Light Up The Night, was to have been the climax to a Memory Miles event in which fundraisers undertake their own challenge by whatever means they wish.

The last memory walk in 2019.