Monday 5 December 2011

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NFU coffee morning raises £500!


Furness Ladies National Farmers Union vice chairperson, Maureen Boyren presented a cheque for £500.00 to Kathy Graves, Quality Manager from St Mary’s Hospice on Tuesday 29th November. The amount being the proceeds from a coffee morning held on 27th October in the Coronation Hall, Ulverston. The group would like to thank everyone who supported the event, in any way, making it such a great success.

Mrs Boyren said “It is a pleasure to be able to support the excellent work done by the Hospice and thanks go to the staff and volunteers for the dedication they show in caring for people in the local community, not only the patients, but their extended family. The care given is second to none and reaches people in their homes as well as in the Hospice itself.”

'Life in Barrow' DVD sales boost Hospice funds


Ray Cassley, Hospice Fundraiser was delighted to be presented with a donation of £250 from Joe Wardman. Joe had made a DVD about life in Barrow with the help of Signal films and all the proceeds from the sale of his DVD were donated to St Mary’s.

Everyone at St Mary’s would like to thank Joe for raising funds for our charity. It is greatly appreciated

45th Keswick to Barrow brings in another amazing donation

The Keswick to Barrow Walk is a 40 mile sponsored stroll through some of the country’s finest landscapes. The route starts on the southern side of the Lake district town of Keswick and winds its way through some of the most beautiful scenery to Barrow in Furness.

The idea of walking from Keswick to Barrow originated in 1966 as a result of a statement made by the late US President, John F Kennedy to the effect that 'every American should be capable of walking 50 miles a day'. At this time the first Polaris Submarine - HMS Resolution was being built at the shipyard in Barrow and several American experts were resident in the area assisting with the project.

With the idea now conceived, plans were soon under way to organise a walk and build relationships with the crew of the submarine and the workers at the then ‘Vickers’ shipyard. The initiative was taken by the Installation Manager (Submarines) to formally challenge the Commanding Officer of HMS Resolution to form a team and walk from Keswick to Barrow (approx 50 miles) on 1st April 1967.

The Commercial Department of Vickers heard of this challenge and joined in the walk making it a three cornered contest with the crew from HMS Resolution. The Crew of HMS Resolution finally won the contest in face of severe competition. The distance of the walk was later reduced by moving the start out of Keswick to prevent any problems which might arise through congestion on the difficult entry to the town. The more convenient start point of Rough How Bridge was established with a final measured distance of approximately 40 miles.

This year the walk took place for the 45th time and over £235000 was raised from the event, which took place in May. On Tuesday 29th November all funds were given away to hundreds of charities at a presentation evening, which took place at the Forum 28 in Barrow. Since the walk started over 2 million pounds has been raised. This year St Mary’s was awarded £13190 with the option of claiming an additional £2000 in Gift aid. The Hospice cannot thank the organiser’s and walkers enough for this wonderful contribution.

Freemasons support for Hospices


St Mary’s Hospice, Funding & Operations Manager, Zoe Guest receives a cheque for £2278.00 from the West Lancashire, Furness and South Lakeland group of Lodges and Chapters of the Freemasons. The grant is part of the Freemasons Grand Charity’s extensive support of Hospices in England and Wales. The donation was awarded to St Mary’s in support of their application made in August 2011.

Pictured: Tony Harrison, assistant provincial grand master, Zoe Gest and Rowley Saunders, the Furness Group Chairman.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

The No.1 Jon Bon Jovi Tribute Act is coming to Dalton!


St Mary’s Hospice is proud to announce that the NO.1 Jon Bon Jovi Tribute Act - David Burrows will be performing at Dalton Cricket Club, Ulverston Road on Friday 9th December to raise funds for the charity.

David Burrows is a superb Jon Bon Jovi impersonator. He won Granada Television's 'Stars in Their Eyes' in 1997 and he has the looks & voice of the star. David is described as the UK's number one Bon Jovi tribute act!

St Mary’s Hospice hopes to bring the sounds of the outstanding rock band to Dalton. Tickets are selling fast, but there are still a few available at a charge of £10 to include a Hot Pot supper provided by Kitchen Wizard.

The event starts at 7.30pm, and will commence with a disco from DJ Billy

For further information call 01229 580305. Tickets can be purchased from St Mary’s Hospice or from the St Mary’s Charity Shops in Dalton or Barrow.

Ulverston Dickensian Festival




Blustery winds and pouring rain failed to dampen the spirits of the die-hard Dickensian Festival fans.

The thirteenth Dickensian Christmas Festival, took place in Ulverston on the 26th & 27th December. The festival is one of the most popular Dickensian Festival events in the country.

This year again thousands of people came along to wander around and savour the wonderful atmosphere of a traditional market town in the Dickensian era.

St Mary’s once again took part in the Christmas market and we are delighted to announce that we raised £1335.54 for the charity.

A huge thank you goes to all the volunteers who helped us during the weekend and braved the cold weather. We really appreciate your support.