Fundraising Archives - Page 9 of 29 - East Cheshire Hospice

Do you fancy visiting the edge of the Arctic circle?

Posted on 30th August 202324th August 2023 by Becky Sidwell

Do you fancy visiting the edge of the Arctic circle?

East Cheshire Hospice still has a few places left on its Iceland adventure between November 13-18 next year.

The three-day trek is graded moderate to challenging with walkers covering an average of 12 kilometres a day over varying terrain.

The journey ends with a chance to explore Reykjavik, the world’s most northern capital.

The hike visits active volcanoes and lava fields, bubbling mud pools and hot springs.

The natural wonders of Iceland.

Walkers will also travel along the fault lines between Europe and America, with a chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

Three open evenings at the Hospice on Tuesdays Sept 12 and 19 and Monday, Sept 25 (all at 7 pm) will be a chance to learn more details.

People can attend one of the sessions without booking or email events@echospice.org.uk for more information.

Hospice Community and Events Assistant Nik Kalka said: “Iceland is known as the ‘Land of Fire and Ice’ because of its breathtaking natural landscapes.

Fundraiser Nik Kalka.

“It’s the trip of a lifetime and at the same time it’s a great way for walkers to support the Hospice.”

The entry deadline is November. A full breakdown of costs and fundraising, as well as testimonials from previous trek participants, will be given at the open evenings.

To find out more about the Iceland trip visit eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/trekiceland or contact the fundraising team on 01625 433477.

Prestbury Golf Day success 2023

Posted on 23rd August 202316th August 2023 by Becky Sidwell

A golf day went with such a swing that a record amount was raised for East Cheshire Hospice.

The long-standing event at Prestbury Golf Club raised £15,135, a 50 per cent increase on the previous best in 2022.

The winning Allmand-Smith team. From left, Adam, Martin, Jacqueline and William.

The Allmand-Smith team came out on top, with Martin, wife Jacqueline and sons Adam and William collecting an impressive 92 points to take home the Mactex Trophy.

They were among 22 teams enjoying the refurbished Prestbury course where redesigned bunkers and major earth works have brought the course up to modern standards.

The event has been running for 35 years and is the flagship competition on Prestbury’s charity golf calendar.

The Holmes Naden team. From left, Paul Garrity, Rob Thorneycroft, Edward Naden and Mike Taylor.

It was again organised by John Davies, Director of Mactex Properties Ltd, and ex-golf professional Nigel Preston, from Interflex.

John, who was involved in the first tournament, said: “We’d like to thank everyone for their generous support yet again.

“Our main sponsors estate agents Holmes Naden were superb, with numerous businesses and volunteers also involved, including Amanda Cross from Sphere UK, Victoria Devon and Claire Gorton, Carley Macey and Nik Kalka from the Hospice.

Organisers, volunteers and Hospice staff. From left, Nik Kalka, Nigel Preston, Carley Macey, Claire Gorton, Vicky Devon, Paul Bianchi, Mandy Cross and John Davies.

“Once again Prestbury were wonderful hosts and it was a pleasure to be among the first to play their new-look course.

“It’s fantastic we raised enough to cover the Hospice’s running costs for two days.

“That means supporting local people with end-of-life care, their families and carers both at home and in the Hospice.”

The Cinema Show performance is back for 2023

Posted on 9th August 20232nd August 2023 by Becky Sidwell

Revisit the 1980s during a night of nostalgia at MADS Theatre in aid of East Cheshire Hospice.

The decade’s iconic moments feature in a unique live music and film show staged by The Cinema Show on Saturday, October 14, at 7.30 pm.

Stand by for tributes to Live Aid, MTV and the dawn of the mobile phone age during ‘Living in the 80s.’

Fashion, sport, video games and the end of the cold war also feature.

The electronic group blend sound and film archives – shown on an old-style cinema screen – with music to create an original twist on the decade.

The Cinema Show performing.

Founder Doug Skelton said: “The 80s were an eclectic mix of music and our aim is to appeal to all different tastes with something for everyone.

“We want to create a party atmosphere and acknowledge some of the more emotive songs from a fascinating decade.”

Doug plays guitar and keyboard, with uncle Dave Skelton on drums and Beth Moss on piano and synths. Doug’s older sister Jacqui handles live sound arrangements for the show.

The group will release an album of their latest work, entitled ‘Superpower Games’, to coincide with the performance.

A blast from the past … 80s style.

The event is sponsored by Intersafety, a local family-run business, to mark the company’s 21st anniversary.

The Macclesfield-based company distributes personal protective equipment, clothing and workplace safety products.

Doug, head of digital marketing, said: “We’re aiming to raise £5,000 for the Hospice which is a superb cause. Everyone knows about the charity and its wonderful work in the community.

“It’s an ambitious target, but with the support of the public and our customers and suppliers we’re hoping to turn it into one of Macclesfield’s biggest music events this year.

“We performed at MADS last year and this show has since been refreshed and updated with energy and colour.

Dave Skelton and Doug Skelton.

“It’ll be a nostalgic audio-visual trip down memory lane for many and will hopefully have widespread appeal to a certain generation.

“We mix historical samples and commentary with modern music to create our songs. Related film archives and footage form the stage backdrop.

“Our family have connections to the Hospice with two family members patients there.”

The Cinema Show raised more than £1,700 for the Hospice from last year’s show.

* To buy tickets priced £9 (£5 for under-15s) visit ticketsource.co.uk/the-cinema-show

Australian actors took to the stage

Posted on 2nd August 202326th July 2023 by Becky Sidwell

Theatregoers rallied round to support a special musical staged by an Australian amateur theatre group.

Their one-off performance of The Pirate Code at MADS Theatre in Macclesfield raised £800 for East Cheshire Hospice.

It was part of a week-long nationwide tour by Nuworks, a group of Melbourne-based actors who financed the trip themselves.

Their hosts were Macclesfield Amateur Dramatic Society which underwrote the show as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations.

MADS management member John Chandler said: “We had a great night and want to thank everyone for coming along to support us.

“A special thanks must go to our Australian visitors for choosing Macclesfield as one of four touring venues.

“The cast joined MADS members in our bar afterwards to exchange stories about on-stage experiences, before our guests went to the Lake District the following day for their last performance before returning to Australia.

“I’m sure they took home lots of happy memories of their visit here and importantly we raised funds for a great charity.

John Chandler from MADS Theatre.

“MADS have always been great supporters of the Hospice and it was Nuworks’ idea to donate profits from this event to such a wonderful local cause.”

* The next MADS production is The Cats Mother by Erica Murray, a black comedy which runs from September 11-16.

ends

Our Memory Tree is planted

Posted on 26th July 20233rd August 2023 by Becky Sidwell

The newest arrival at East Cheshire Hospice is a Memory Tree ready to be decorated with leaves.

Supporters can dedicate a leaf engraved with a short message to someone special.

The metal sculpture amid wild flowers in a discreet setting at the back of the Hospice is already admired by volunteer gardeners.

Among them Bob Burton, a neighbour who planted the tree with fundraiser Nik Kalka.

Fundraiser Nik Kalka (left) and gardening volunteer Bob Burton with the newly-installed Memory Tree.

Bob said: “The Memory Tree is a cracking idea and will hopefully generate income. People I know who’ve walked past say it looks like a piece of art anyway up against the wall.

“It’s a lot different than I imagined and there are small holes where leaves can be attached.

“The gardens are so serene which is how it should be round here. It’s lovely and peaceful and we have a great team of gardeners.”

Bob, a retired health and safety adviser with GMP, has volunteered at the Hospice for a year, having helped the homeless and at food banks.

A ginnel from his home of 34 years provides a cut through to the Hospice. Bob’s late brother-in-law Mel Withey was a Hospice patient.

Bob said: “I’ve always had an involvement with the charity as it’s so local. The gardeners meet every Wednesday morning, but because I live so close if I see it’s dry I can whip round and cut the grass.”

Some 400 copper, silver and bronze leaves are available and subscribers do not need a Hospice link.

A subscription is £10 a month, or £120 for a year. Employees from AstraZeneca gifted the new memorial.

The tree is easily accessible without entering the Hospice building, with parking available.

Individual Giving Fundraiser Beth England said: “Visitors can come along at any time and the gardens provide a beautiful backdrop.

“There’s privacy and with benches it’s the ideal place to reflect and remember a loved one.

“Each leaf can be inscribed with a short message if donors wish and funds raised provide vital revenue for the Hospice.”

“Your leaf will remain on the tree for a year, at which point you can choose to either renew its place for a further year or we can return the leaf to you to treasure forever.”

* To sign up to the Memory Tree visit www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/memory-tree.

For queries, contact amy.williams@echospice.org.uk or call 01625 665688.

Memory Tree Gardeners

Posted on 26th July 202325th July 2023 by Becky Sidwell

Retired nurse Lindsay Taylor kept a promise to herself by joining the band of volunteers tending to the East Cheshire Hospice gardens.

Lindsay, from Macclesfield, said: “I was a nurse at the Hospice and always said that when I retired I’d like to garden here because I like the gardens so much.

“I wanted to give something back and have been here about four years. It’s great fun and the volunteers are such a nice friendly gang.

Gardening volunteers (from left) Carol Bonner, Lindsay Taylor, Carol Waterhouse, Pat Dawson and Olwen Gibson.

“Sometimes patients will come out and admire the gardens. The husband of one patient came out and said ‘I’ll do a bit while I’m here.’

“It was quite sweet really and everyone does appreciate the gardens.”

Fellow volunteer Carol Waterhouse left her job as Hospice ward manager in 2016 to set up a home help business.

She said: “I came back on to the nursing register in 2021 during Covid and do bank shifts for Hospice @Home now I’m semi-retired.

“Gardening here is a lovely thing to do and all we want is to make a difference.”

Olwen Gibson is one of the newest gardening recruits. She said: “I realised I’d got the time and wanted to do something useful. It’s such an enjoyable outdoor activity.”

Carol Bonner, a volunteer for two years, said: “It gets me out and about and I like the idea of a Hospice and what they do. I’ve got the time to help and prefer to be outdoors rather than inside.”

Sunflower Centre Refurbishment

Posted on 19th July 202319th July 2023 by Luke Brightmore

A major project is under way to transform the Sunflower Wellbeing Centre at East Cheshire Hospice.

Work on the £1.25m refurbishment began last month and is expected to be completed in January 2024.

The modern stylish complex will be much better equipped to meet a rapidly growing need for the charity’s services.

A computer image of the new Sunflower Wellbeing Centre.

Patient and carer capacity is expected to more than double from a current weekly rate of 179 to 400 within two years of completion.

Crucially, more services will operate simultaneously and in the evenings and at weekends.

The extended seven-day working will facilitate greater community engagement, improving integration with the local healthcare strategy of everyone living well for longer.

The Sunflower Centre – the hub of the Hospice’s outpatient services – opened as a day care centre with the Hospice welcoming its first day patients in May 2000. The facility has been extended since but is now outdated and unable to meet demand.

Rachel Allcock, Income Generation Director at the Hospice, said: “The new Sunflower Wellbeing Centre will be a valuable resource for the community. We anticipate being able to accommodate local support groups and other community activities.

“It’s an exciting project and something we’ve wanted to carry out for a long time, but just haven’t been able to do.

“The previous centre served us well, but was no longer fit for purpose. We’ve saved money over time to fund the project, knowing that at some stage we wanted to undertake this work.

“We’ve also applied for specific grants and trust donations so that no income from fundraising which covers day-to-day running costs will be used.”

Rachel Allcock, Income Generation Director at East Cheshire Hospice.

The Sunflower entrance is located to the side of the main reception which is unaffected by the changes.

The radical new design was developed over three years, based on patient, staff and volunteer experiences.

The refurbishments have sustainability in mind, with running costs not expected to increase significantly since the operational floor space is only slightly extended.

The new-look Sunflower Wellbeing Centre.

Any increased heating costs due to extended opening hours will be partly offset by using more efficient heating/cooling systems and a solar-panelled roof.

The projected number of users excludes off-site programmes co-ordinated by the Sunflower team. It also excludes separate work to expand dementia services into community venues.

In total, the Hospice will reach an estimated 1,360 people, some 80 per cent of those living with, or dying from, a life-limiting illness.

Future-Proofing Hospice Facilities

Posted on 19th July 202313th July 2023 by Luke Brightmore

Day hospice services have been temporarily moved to other areas for six months during refurbishment work.

The Hospice is adapting facilities, including using the Chapel to accommodate patients.

Some will access outpatient services remotely as happened successfully during Covid. The experiences from that crisis period have been invaluable planning contingencies during the building phase.

The pandemic put a major strain on the Hospice with the effects of the virus still being felt.

Rachel Allcock, Director of Income Generation, said: “We are getting patients coming to us much later in diagnosis who are really poorly because they didn’t want to burden the NHS with their symptoms during Covid.

“It’s a similar story at other hospices although the after-effects of Covid should be temporary. The main reason, though, for a projected rise in patient numbers is an ageing population.

“The refurbished Sunflower Wellbeing Centre will give us the perfect opportunity to re-launch existing services, promote new activity and collaborate with health care professionals, faith and community groups to increase our overall support for the communities we serve.

A glimpse of the future at East Cheshire Hospice.

“We’re hoping to cater for people at every stage of their journey and for all disease groups, including drop-in facilities for the newly-diagnosed.

“Our aim is to encompass that whole need rather than the limited need in a building only able to host one thing at a time.”

Many more volunteers will be needed to help deliver the expanded services.

A glimpse of the future at East Cheshire Hospice.

A huge success at Fashion on the Edge

Posted on 5th July 202328th June 2023 by Becky Sidwell

A colourful Fashion on the Edge show provided one of the highlights of the summer fundraising season for East Cheshire Hospice.

More than 260 guests raised a staggering £25,000 for the Hospice at the annual ladies lunch.

The centrepiece of the occasion was a fashion show by volunteer models wearing latest trends by local boutiques OutDazl and The Edit.

Guests at Fashion on the Edge.

The event, inside a marquee at Alderley Edge Cricket Club, was sponsored by McAlister Family Law, with Pettengell Wealth Management sponsoring drinks.

They were in plentiful supply, as were beauty, home ware and clothing stalls. Floral arrangements courtesy of local companies added a further touch of glamour.

Hospice fundraiser Bethan Wade said: “We had a fantastic time and special thanks must go to the brilliant group of ladies who help organise the event each year.

Fun and fundraising for East Cheshire Hospice.

“Thanks also to our sponsors and everyone who enjoyed the afternoon and donated in so many ways.”

It was Bethan’s final event before she leaves the Hospice fundraising team for a new challenge.

She said: “I’ve had a wonderful time here. It’s been a real thrill to work with my colleagues and members of the community who’ve been so generous with their support.”

* The Hospice is on the lookout for a community and events fundraiser to join its team. The role involves cultivating relationships with individuals and groups, coordinating volunteers and organising events.

The closing date is July 9. To apply visit www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/our-current-vacancies.

Second Pie and Pint event this September!

Posted on 21st June 202327th June 2023 by Becky Sidwell

A tasty pie and a traditional pint – the perfect ingredients for a scenic stroll with East Cheshire Hospice.

The Hospice is holding its second Pie and Pint walk, sponsored by Holdcroft, on Saturday, September 16, from 10 am.

The 10k walk starts and ends at Macclesfield Rugby Union Football Club, visiting Over Alderley, Mottram St Andrew, Prestbury and Dale Brow.

Early bird tickets available until June 30 are £25 for adults and £15 for under 18s who must be accompanied by an adult, or have written permission. Tickets provide a non-alcoholic drink for those under age.

Walkers at the first Pie and Pint event.

Challenge Events Coordinator Bethan Wade said: “The event is back by popular demand after we ran it for the first time last year.

“Walkers are urged to wear suitable clothing and footwear such as walking boots and waterproofs and not trainers as the route is challenging.

“Well-behaved dogs are welcome although there are multiple stiles on the route which some dogs may struggle with. The route isn’t accessible for wheelchairs or pushchairs.

Fundraiser Claire Gorton (left) and volunteer Catherine Atkinson.

“The entrance fee only covers the cost of the event, so we ask that everyone tries to raise at least £50 sponsorship or make a donation when booking.

“All entrants receive a custom pint glass, hi vis jacket and, of course, a pie and a pint at the end. There are three flavours – meat and potato, chicken balti and cheese and onion – plus vegan, gluten free options.”

* To enter visit eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/events/pie-and-pint/