Paws for Thought

St Mary’s Hospice is hoping to have a barking-mad day out on Sunday 11th September when they host their first ever sponsored walk for dogs. We hope that a maximum of 100 owners will come forward to put their pooch to the test.

“Paws for Thought”, in memory of Family Support Team Leader Mo Kirk, who sadly passed away recently, covers 1.5 miles and will take place from Glaxo Sports and Social club starting at 1.30pm.

The course takes the owners and dogs (which must be on a lead) towards the coast and then across the slag banks on a circuit of the playing fields. It is then back to the entrance for well-deserved refreshments for owners and dogs.

Event organiser, Zoe Guest said: "Our new Paws for Thought walk in Ulverston is an ideal opportunity for dog owners to get out with their pets and friends and family to enjoy a scenic walk and raise much needed funds for their local hospice. We'd like as many people to join in as possible. Our dear colleague Mo came up with the name for this event and we would like it to be a success in tribute to her.”

All dogs who take part will receive an award for their participation in the event.
Places on the sponsored walk can be booked in advance or will be taken on the day. However, it will be on a first come basis. Registration is £5 per dog and owners will be issued with a sponsor form to try and raise as much money as they can for St Mary’s. To register call 01229 580305 or visit www.stmaryshospice.org.uk/events/eventscalendar.php

Calling all Belles & Beaus for Cartmel Charity Race Night!

Cartmel Racecourse will be the setting for a special race night on 25th August – it’s their first ever Charity Race night and the beneficiary will be St Mary's Hospice. In addition to all the fun associated with racing at Cartmel, there will be an emphasis on fashion as there will be prizes for the best dressed racegoers and a special “Belles and Beaus” Enclosure for the fashion conscious to enjoy a range of fundraising activities.

Local business-woman Tracy Wells thinks that the charity event will be a huge attraction and is using her business links to ensure that a wide range of local companies and individuals become involved in the day. The milliner, who also runs a hairdressing business, says “There are many ladies who’d love the opportunity to glam up and show off their finery – so what occasion than to get dressed up for the races!”

“The hospice is a very worthy cause and many of us have personal reasons for focusing all our efforts on these fundraising activities – in my own case, they showed great care and compassion to my mother in her final days”.

There will be prizes for both the best dressed female racegoer (the Belle) and the best dressed male racegoer (the Beau). The first prize for the ladies will be provided by Sue Shields Face and Body Spa in conjunction with Clarins UK – a spa day for two at Sue Shields Face and Body Spa in Carnforth and a Clarins hamper worth £300. Other generous prizes contributed by local companies include: fashion shoots from Kells photographic images of Barrow; jewellery from Sienna (Kirby Lonsdale); designer gift vouchers from phoebe (Ulverston); a bespoke fascinator voucher from The Hat Box (Barrow); a pair of binoculars from Lamberts (Lancaster) and one night’s bed and breakfast for two at the Green Castle Hotel in Kendal.

The Belles and Beaus Enclosure will be located adjacent to the Grandstand, within the Paddock Enclosure, and will be decorated by Efflorescence, Bay View Garden Centre and Gas Bagz Balloons and entrance will be through a special arch provided by Haverigg prison. Music will be provided by The Two of Us and Voce. Although no strict dress code will be enforced, it is hoped that racegoers will rise to the occasion and that women will wear hats or fascinators while the men will wear jackets. All racegoers will be invited to donate £5 or more to St Mary’s Hospice in return for a corsage or buttonhole, which will admit them to the Belles & Beaus Enclosure as well as demonstrate their support for the popular local charity.

For those looking for exclusive dining and hospitality, there will be a Charity Lunch starting at 2.00pm on the raceday in the superb Louis Roederer Restaurant with a view of the race track. The sumptuous three course meal will be followed by tea at 5.30pm and racing. The package costs £150 per person, £50 of which will go directly to the charity.

For further information on 25th August call the Grandstand office on 015395 36340 or visit www.cartmel-racecourse.co.uk

Michael Bublé Comes to Dalton!

On Friday 5th August, St Mary’s Hospice hopes to bring the sounds of the outstanding Canadian crooner to Dalton when they host a special evening at Dalton Cricket Club to raise funds for the charity. Starting at 7.30pm, DJ Billy and Dave Roberts will offer a retrospective of the songs from the Rat pack and entertain the audience with tunes from some of the most famous acts of the time.

Then, Lee J Harris who has the reputation as one of the UKs brightest young stars will then perform as Michael Bublé. It will soon become clear why his tribute show to Bublé is the best around! Lee J Harris has also been touted in some circles as being a "new Sinatra" and in 'Michael Bublé live' he will show not only an extraordinary Michael Bublé tribute, but also a knack for making familiar repertoire his own.

Tickets are £10 to include Hot Pot provided by Kitchen Wizard.

Lee J Harris has a worldwide following and has been pleasing audiences of all ages for many years with his unique voice and vocal style and his vast repertoire. The St Mary’s Fundraising team are sure that this event will soon be sold out.

For further information or to purchase tickets call 01229 580305.

The C2C Challenges raises £27,629!

The C2C challenge (29 June - 02 July) is now complete. We are delighted to announce that the team of 15 riders who set out to ride 170 miles (mainly off road just to add to the pain!) starting from Robin Hood Bay on the East Coast and finishing at St Mary’s successfully completed their challenge at Ulverston Carnival.

The team actually covered 188 miles in total due to a miss calculation, but on the 2nd July had raised an amazing £27,629.06 for St Marys, which smashed their £20,000 target.

There is a blog detailing all the rider’s pain levels each day and details of their trip on the website www.stmarysc2cchallenge.co.uk

Jeff Walsh the main organiser of the Challenge said “Day 2 was really hard - 10.5'hours on a bike isn't great for anyone. What should have been an easy of road start turned out to be a nightmare! Loads of breakdowns, punctures and gears, which didn't make the day easy.”

“However, day 3 & 4 turned out to be better and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support up to and over the ride. The finish was overwhelming at the Ulverston Carnival and a special thanks to the Hospice and their team along with The Bay Radio for being so gentle with someone so microphone shy!”

St Mary’s would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved especially the 15 riders and support team who completed such an amazing challenge. The response to the ride and sponsorship has been amazing.

Support our work with a legacy...

St Mary’s was delighted to be presented with a donation for £10000 from the estate of the late Mr Colin Dale. The funds were officially handed over to the nursing team at St Mary’s on Wednesday 20th July by Mr Dale's wife Jeanette. Mrs Dale explained that Colin wanted to give something back to St Mary’s for all the loving care that he had received during his illness. The funds are to be used to purchase two new mattresses for the inpatient unit to support those patients that are unable to get out of bed and new uniforms for all the nursing staff.

It wouldn’t have been possible to purchase the new equipment without this generous gift. It costs over £2 million to run all St Mary’s services each year and the majority of the income has to be raised from voluntary sources.

Making a Will is an important responsibility that can secure the future of your family and loved ones. To make a Will is to take a step towards ensuring that those you care for are properly provided for financially.

When making your Will, please consider St Mary's if you are making any charitable provisions. The care we provide for local people is beyond price for those who benefit and your legacy will help us continue to provide that care. You can be assured that all funds given to St Mary’s will be spent locally and will support someone in your community.

The importance of legacies to our funding cannot be over-emphasised. They constitute one of our largest single sources of income making a massive contribution to our ability to have a positive effect on so many people's lives. Whether you have personal knowledge of the care we provide or just want to support those with a life limiting illness, you can make a real difference when you generously leave a legacy to St Mary’s.

For further information about including St Mary's Hospice in your will visit: www.stmaryshospice.org/donate/legacies.php

Pictured: Mrs Dale with nurses Mary procter, Jill Park and Fiona Macdonald, modelling their new uniforms.

Leven Valley Show their Support

Inspector Kevin Spedding was banged in the stocks and pelted with water-soaked sponges in aid of St Mary’s at the popular annual fair and car boot sale hosted by the Leven Valley Support Group, which took place on June 19th and was a great success.

Leven Valley Support Group hosts this event every year, with all proceeds going to for St Mary's, which provides care for local people with life-limiting illnesses. This year’s event, on Haverthwaite playing fields, attracts hundreds of visitors for a fun-filled family day out.

The Leven Valley Support Group has once again organised a number of successful events this year for the Hospice and they have raised thousands of pounds for St Mary’s over the many years they have been working on behalf of the charity.

Members of the group presented a cheque to Zoe Guest from St Mary’s on the 22nd July at the Hospice for an amazing £7000, which has been raised during 2010-11. An absolutely fantastic achievement.

Pictured: Leven Valley Support Group Chairman Dorothy Crabtree, Secretary Marian Wilson, Michelle Farghar, Sophie Farghar and Sorrel the dog!

The Biggest Loser Raises £620!

Kimberly Clark recently run their Biggest Loser – Weight Loss Challenge 2011 and raised £620 for St Mary’s Hospice. Pictured is the winner of the competition Richard Foote who lost 3 stone and 3lbs, Heather Steele who lost 3 stone and Anita Dawes, Occupational Health Officer at Kimberly Clark who presented the funds to Zoe Guest, Funding & Operations Manager at St Mary’s.

Try Sports Day 2011

FREE sports were on offer throughout the day on Sunday 10th July at Lakes Leisure Ulverston. The leisure centre offered a wide range of activities free of charge on its annual Try Sports Day; and this year the event was in partnership with St Mary’s Hospice who organised a 1k and 5k fun run for all the family.

The idea behind Try Sports Day was to encourage members of the local community to try a variety of different sports on the same day, learn a few skills and maybe even consider joining a local club or regular session. It was a really good opportunity to bring friends and family and have a go at some great sports together – free of charge!

Free sports available on the day included tennis, hockey, football, cricket, rugby, aikido, cardio tennis, and ruggercise! There was also a climbing wall and on site catering provided by St Mary’s.

St Mary’s is delighted that on the day they raised over £400 from the various activities taking place.

Chris Bryant takes up a fundraising weight loss challenge!

Former soldier Chris Bryant used to be a fit, healthy man, but working in the food industry has been a recipe for disaster when it comes to maintaining a fitness regime.

As a chef Chris faces temptation every day and the demanding hours of his restaurant makes exercising difficult. So the owner of the Copper Dog in Leece has chosen a slightly unconventional weight loss plan to keep him motivated. Tipping the scales at 21-stone, 1.4pounds, the challenge is to lose weight and shape up to the financial benefit of St Mary’s.

“There are two goals to this,” explains Chris. “The Copper Dog has done things in the past to raise money for Macmillan Nurses and Help for Heroes. But we decided to concentrate on home this time. Because everybody is sending money out of the area and because of the present financial situation we’re in we decided to go for St Mary’s Hospice. The second point to this is a health issue. Owning a pub and being a chef and enjoying all the wonderful things in life, I decided it’s time to get the weight down and do a good cause to raise as much as possible.”

Chris will follow a health and fitness regime over the next five months, finishing on Friday December 23. This realistic timescale will enable him to slim sensibly and work towards his goal of raising “several thousand pounds” for St Mary’s Hospice.

As part of his fundraising campaign the Copper Dog will host charity nights, including a beer and food festival on 7th October, and Chris is liaising with Furness Cricket Club and Barrow Raiders to get them involved.

Customers at the Copper Dog can also choose to donate £1 with their bill, as well as sponsoring Chris for every pound he loses.

Nuffield, in Hollywood Park, has devised a personalised training plan to help him lose weight and shape up with confidence.

The Evening Mail will be providing an update of Chris Bryant’s progress every month in Love Life.

Recycle your workplace ink cartridges and help raise funds

This month Wise Fundraising Ltd was delighted to present St Mary’s Hospice with a cheque for £152. The money was raised by Fingerprints, a printing company in Barrow-in-Furness, who have been recycling their used printer cartridges.

St Mary’s and Wise Fundraising Ltd have been working together to generate funds for the benefit of our community in South Cumbria. A forerunner in corporate fundraising for charities, Wise Fundraising Ltd supply and recycle ink jet cartridges and toners and kindly provide St Mary’s with funding from each new sale and from the value of returned empty cartridges and toners.

We hope that the funds we receive from Wise Fundraising Ltd could be greatly increased if more local businesses donate their empty inkjet cartridges and laser toners. 20% of the value of the cartridges will be donated to St Mary’s. All cartridge and toner types are accepted. Wise Recycling can collect large toners directly from your workplace free of charge and can provide you with the weight for recycling stats. Prepaid bags and collecting boxes can also be provided for smaller inkjet cartridges. As the postage is inclusive, returning your used items costs only a little time and, as many are suitable for re-filling or re-manufacture, you will be helping the environment.

You can also help to raise further funds for St Mary’s by ordering your cartridges and toners with Wise Fundraising Ltd online. Simply visit www.stmaryshospice.is-recycling.co.uk
Princes are very competitive on a large range and include VAT and postage. 10% of the value of orders will be donated to St Mary’s.

As ink cartridges and toners are a commodity which most of us use in conjunction with our computers, this method of raising funds for St Mary's is simple yet effective. We hope that you will use this innovative opportunity to help raise much needed funds for us and help the environment. If you would like further information about recycling in your workplace please contact Hannah on 01229 580305 or email hannah@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Mayor officially opens up St Mary’s new Millom Shop

The 10th shop run by St Mary’s Hospice was officially opened on Monday 18th July at 11am by the Mayor of Millom.

The launch of the shop marks St Mary’s formal entry into south Copeland. The outlet has been set up in the former Evening Mail office at 12 Wellington Street.

The new shop will raise funds to support the work of the hospice, which provides expert care and a better quality of life, totally free, for patients with life-limiting illnesses throughout south Cumbria.

Zoe Guest, St Mary’s Hospice Funding and Operations Manager, said: “We are delighted to be trading in Millom and I am extremely thankful to all our hard-working staff and volunteers who have rallied round to get the new shop up and running. We would especially like to thank Sheldon’s for their help in fitting out the shop, Tesco for support with refreshments for the official opening, the Evening Mail for donating some fittings and fixtures and the Kerb grant scheme for awarding us a grant of £293 towards our new shop front. We have been made to feel so welcome by all traders and customers and hope that the shop will become a great resource for local people.”

“I would urge everyone to pop by our fantastic new shop, meet the team and have a look through some of our high quality items. Every purchase or item donated to the shop will help support St Mary’s.”

The charity already runs seven charity shops, a furniture warehouse and a gift shop at their Ford Park base.

Anyone who would like to donate goods to the shop, or volunteer time to staff the shop, is asked to contact retail leader Emma Athersmith on 01229 580305.

Summer Charity Party raises over £6000

Sue Vernon and friends organised their second Summer Charity Party to raise funds for St Mary’s Hospice and Furness General Hospital Oncology Unit. The event took place in a marquee at Cartmel Race Course on Saturday 16th July.

Classic rock band “Steeler” entertained all who attended. They had travelled over from the Midlands to support the event and provided their services free of charge.

A highly successful raffle was held during the evening and a big thank you must go to all who provided raffle prizes. A special thank you must also go to the team from the Royal Oak who ran the bar and the caterers who attended so well to the large audience in attendance.

It is hoped that the event will have raised over £6000, which is an absolutely amazing achievement.