Thank you to Amicus...

We would like to say a big thank you to the Trade Union, Amicus, who have raised a wonderful £500 for St Mary's.

Pictured: Clive Kitchen (Secretary), Zoe Guest (St Mary's Fundraising Manager), John Woodcock (Labour Candidate for Furness).

Raising awareness about Hospice care

On 13 December 2009 BBC Radio 4 will broadcast an appeal in aid of Help the Hospices that aims to raise both funds and awareness about hospice care in the UK, and to dispel some common myths. You can read more about it here. Please do encourage people to listen in.

Jan de Vries - How to Live a Healthy Life

11th January 2010

7pm - 9.30pm

Lisdoonie Hotel, 307 Abbey Road, Barrow-in-Furness

Jan de Vries - The world renowned Naturopath and author will be giving a talk on 'How to Live a Healthy Life'. In aid of St Mary's Hospice.

Tickets £5, available from Pastures New, 66-70 Scott Street, Barrow-in-Furness, tel 01229 833043. Jan de Vries will also be spending time instore on Tuesday 12 January 2010 between 9am - 1pm, to give free consultations and sign copies of his many books.

Choose to give differently this Christmas

Would you like to help to create the largest wall of online Christmas cards and raise funds for St Mary's Hospice?

Choose to give differently this Christmas with Everyclick Considerate Christmas.

You can choose to send your festive greetings and make a donation to any charity in the UK, or you can give each of your recipients a voucher for them to donate to their favourite charity. And to put the icing on the cake, you'll cut down on time, hassel and waste too.

What's more, you can get your greetings organised now and choose when you'd like them to be delivered.

Send your greeting now, it's as easy as (mince) pie.

Christmas with Efflorescence

Christmas Demonstration and Workshop

Thursday 3rd December 2009

Trinity Church Centre, Warwick Street, Barrow in Furness

6pm - 9pm

The first session will be a demonstration of Christmas designs which will be sold at the end of the evening. The second session will be a 'hands on' workshop where you will get to make a design of your choice to take home for Christmas.

There will be a large selection of fresh and artificial seasonal materials to work with, traditional and modern.

Tickets are £20 each, which will include all materials and seasonal refreshments. Tickets will be on sale at the Efflorescence Studio, Ironworks Road, Barrow-in-Furness (Tel 01229 824418).

If you would like to view some of the designs please feel free to call into the studio any time. Opening times Tuesday to Friday 9am - 5pm.

All proceeds will go to:

St Mary's Hospice

and

Macmillan Nurses

Dalton Christmas Tree Festival

This ever popular Christmas event is open in St Mary's Church, Dalton, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 29th November through until 3rd January 2010. Each year a team of St Mary's volunteers gets together to make the decorations for our tree. This year the theme is "games, puzzles, pastimes", so we decided to base our tree around the idea of gardening and use of the hospice garden. Our tree this year is called “Natures’ Bounty – therapeutic gardening at St Marys”. We have made decorations using cones, seed heads, fruits and berries from the garden. We are pleased to have a prime position in the church which will hopefully raise us lots of money. Last year we collected more than £700. It is a fantastic sight so do go and see for yourself!

Thank you to Urswick Brownies!

A big thank you goes out to the Urswick Brownie group. The girls held a coffee evening and raised a fantastic £130.76!

Belt it Out

Anna Kydd wanted to raise money for St Mary's Hospice after her Grandfather, Reverend Bruce Blantern, received their care in May 2007. With a love for music, Anna decided to record an album in memory of her Grandfather with the help of her friends. The album is a compilation of Christian songs that reflect Anna and her Grandfather's faith. Bruce was the Minister at Ulverston Methodist Church for many years.

Kindly donating all of the profits to St Mary's, Anna has raised a wonderful £940. She commented "Thank you for all that you do at the Hospice. Me and my family are so grateful for all the love and support Bruce got in his last 3 weeks here."

Sponsored Head Shave!

We would like to say a big thank you to Martin Harrison of Ulverston who decided that a sponsored head shave would be a brilliant way to raise funds for St Mary's Hospice. As Martin lost his beloved locks, he managed to raise a fantastic £910.75p.

Do you fancy a fun and exciting challenge with the added bonus of making a difference at the same time? There are hundreds of enjoyable ways to help raise funds for St Mary's! If you would like to see your innovative idea come to life please email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk or call our Fundraising Team on 01229 580305.

Thank you to the Wardman family

We would like to thank the Wardman family for their very kind donation to St Mary's Hospice. Mrs Annie Wardman recently celebrated her 100th birthday. As she put it 'there isn't much one needs when you get to 100 years of age', so she decided that if people wished to mark this wonderful occasion,a donation for the Hospice would be appreciated. Consequently, a fantastic £570 was raised. Janice Wardman, speaking on behalf of the family stated 'We know this will be put to good use, and speaking for many people, we would like to thank you all for the good work you undertake.'

Coast to Coast for St Mary's

We would like to thank Charlie Raine for embarking on a Coast to Coast cycle venture with the aim to raise funds for St Mary's Hospice. The following is an account from Charlie of his trip from Walney Island to Whitby:

I was asked if I would like to join a group of friends from Market Rasen Round Table, who were organising a bike ride to raise funds for a local charity. I decided to take up the challenge and take the opportunity to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston.

I chose to raise money for St Mary’s because of the care my Grandma, Celia Raine, received during her illness. The date was set for 13-15 September. There were nine riders and three people providing support.

Day 1 – 38 miles

We started out from Sandy Gap beach, Walney. The sun was shinning, water bottles filled and tyres checked. We all dipped our back wheels in the sea before hitting the road. Our route was to take us along the coast road to Ulverston, through to Newby Bridge before heading north towards Windermere. We then turned east passing through Crook ending in Kendal. The first day was completed with only one puncture.

Day 2 – 78 miles

An early start out of Kendal to Osmotherly, North Yorkshire. We took an easterly route through Sedbergh, Hawes and Leyburn before arriving at Osmotherly. This was our longest day on the bike at 78 miles. After a long climb out of Kendal we were soon approaching Sedbergh. Unfortunately I fell victim to a Land Rover who failed to notice that there were eight cyclists on the road and proceeded to knock me off my bike. My dad picked up my bike checked it was alright then asked if I was ok. Sore, battered and bruised I continued on my way.

Day 3 – 35 miles

We had an early start from the Hostel at Osmotherly. The day started with grey clouds, which soon turned to rain. Counting down the miles to the finish in Whitby, we continued to push on across the moors. The rain finally eased as we approached Whitby, making the final few hills a little easier. We all regrouped for our final mug of tea and a Hob Nob biscuit, before a 5 mile run, downhill to Whitby Harbour.

Our reward after 151 miles on the road was lunch at “The Magpie” fish and chip restaurant.

I was able to raise £170 for St Mary’s Hospice, it was exhausting and painful at times but an enjoyable weekend. Would I do it again? Yes.

Voices for Hospices 2009

A host of entertainers and musicians were paired up up with local celebrities for a Strictly Come Dancing meets The X Factor-style competition. Duos took to the stage at The Nines, Barrow, last Thursday to raise money for St Mary's Hospice.

The stars were out in Barrow last night for a charity talent show.

St Mary’s Hospice fundraiser Voices for Hospices teamed nine local celebrities with entertainment professionals in a singing showdown held at The Nines in Dalkeith Street.

Rob Cairns, chief executive of Furness Building Society, and Pete Thompson opened the competition with a rendition of Wild Thing – losing their shirts for the final verse. Barrow AFC commercial manager Martin Lewis surprised the crowd with his duet of Let Me Entertain You with singer Kev T.

Peter Murphy duetted with retired Barrow Raiders star Darren Holt in an electrifying version of Sex on Fire and another Raiders player, Ned Catic, accompanied singer Lindsey with his acoustic guitar for Pink’s Who Knew?

John Griffith of Cumbria Fire and Rescue set the stage alight with Dennis Hulme and their
performance of Ring of Fire.

Theatre Bar landlord Mike Fallon, a seasoned pub singer, and his partner Lisa Hart wowed the crowd with My Girl and hospice Fundraising Manager Zoe Guest and Steve Silver teamed up to sing Something Stupid.

Westmorland Gazette reporter Daniel Orr surprised the crowd with a professional version of Let It Be with Leah Simone.

Evening Mail reporter Molly Lynch and Denis Horan got the audience on their feet for an
all-singing, all-dancing Grease medley.

Each pair took to the stage in the first heat before it was whittled down to four duos for the second and final round.

In the final Mr Murphy and Mr Holt stole the show with their version of Sweet Caroline.

Accepting first prize, Mr Holt said: “We’re all here for a good cause – thanks to the hospice for organising tonight. It’s been good fun, all the acts were superb.”

St Mary’s Hospice director Alan Lodge said the charity, based in Ulverston, was hoping to raise around £2,000 at last night’s event.

Many thanks to North West Evening Mail for use of this article.

A big thank you to The Ferry!

We would like to thank The Ferry pub, Walney for raising a fantastic £778.79 for St Mary's! The money was rasied from a 'Family Fun Weekend' which had some wonerful raffle prizes up for grabs.

Do you fancy a fun and exciting challenge with the added bonus of making a difference at the same time? There are hundreds of enjoyable ways to help raise funds for St Marys! If you would like to see your innovative idea come to life please email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk or call our Fundraising Team on 01229 580305.

The Virgin London Marathon 2010

Are you interested in running the London Marathon in aid of St Mary's Hospice?

Join the Help the Hospices team and become a Sunflower Runner in the greatest Marathon in the world - the Virgin London Marathon 2010!

The Help the Hospices website has an online registration form where you can apply. The form will ask you which local hospice you wish to run for. We will then recieve the application form automatically so that we can keep record of all those who are kindly running to support us.

Light up a Life - Raising awareness in national media

Help the Hospices have had some strong interest from weekly women's magazine journalists who are keen to support the Light up a Life appeal and raise awareness of hospice events this year. However, they have requested strong case studies to engage their readers and persuade their features editors to run special features.

We are therefore seeking any of the following:
- Hospice volunteers who went into volunteering following bereavement or who have experience of a relative or friend who was cared for by the hospice.
- People who have been bereaved within the last two years and who are now comfortable with telling their story, talking about bereavement and why they think Light up a Life is important.

Please be reassured that great care will be taken when working with people who volunteer to support media work. We know that it is a challenging area and would never push anyone into telling their story if they were not ready.

In order to raise awareness of Light up a Life nationally, we will also need the following:
-Expert comment eg bereavement experts and/or interesting new trends within the subject of bereavement
-Case studies as mentioned above
-Celebrity support/endorsement

We need to source any suitable media volunteers as soon as possible for meeting magazine deadlines for Christmas. If you can help or you have an idea you would like to discuss please contact Hannah on 01229 580305 or email hannah@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Jump for St Mary's!

Imagine standing at the edge of an open doorway in an aircraft flying at 14,000 feet - the noise of the engines and the wind ringing in your ears with only the outline of distant feilds below. Now imagine leaning forward out of that doorway and letting go - falling forward into the clouds, diving down through the air as you start freefalling at over 120mph! Then imagine the peace and quiet as the canopy opens, the steering toggles come down either side of you and you begin a tranquil descent from a mile up in the air, steering yourself back down to the centre of the drop zone below.

This is what 25 people did on Saturday 12th September 2009 to help raise money for St Mary's Hospice, which provides palliative and supportive care for those with life-limiting condtions throughout South Cumbria. The programme of jumps took place at the North West Parachute Jump Centre, Flookburgh and each of the brave participants raised a minimum of £130 for the charity with many raising much more. A further 5 individuals will be taking the plunge on the 26th September.

Zoe Guest, Fundraising Manager said "We would like to thank all the very brave people who volunteered to do this and who have raised a significant amount of money to help support our work."

This event was so popular that we have decided to host a second 10,000 feet freefall parachute jump in September 2010. If you feel brave enough to take part, and would like your name to be placed on the waiting list please email hannah@stmaryshospice.org.uk

We will ask you to raise £395 in sponsorship money in order for you to jump for free and in return St Mary's will recieve an average donation of £140. In additon to this, every extra pound that you raise over the minimum comes straight to the hospice, so we encourage you to raise as much money as you can.

Please note that limited places are available. Skydiving is a weather dependent activity so the pre-arranged date of your jump may be subject to change.

Want a taste of freefalling from 14,000 feet? Click here to watch a video of one of our supporters Justin jumping for St Mary's!

Voices for Hospices

World Hospice and Palliative Care day and Voices for Hospices is taking place this year on 10th October. Events will be taking place in 70 countries around the world on the day and during the week leading up to that date to raise awareness of local services, and to highlight our work. Events will include a global wave of Voices for Hospice concerts, education events and public awareness activities.

St Mary's would like to celebrate in style and on Thursday 8th October 2009 we will be holding our "Voices for Hospices" event at the Nines on Dalkeith Street in Barrow-in-Furness from 7pm until late. The event will see a group of local "celebrities", paired up with a team of well known local singers including, Pete Murphy, Denis Horan, and Steve Silver, and together they will sing a duet to compete to be the Voices for Hospices Champions 2009.

All contestants will be singing songs of their choice and will have been sponsored to perform in front of a live audience. A special team of judges will form a panel for the evening, but the audience will decide who will be the event winners.

Tickets are £5 each and can be purchased from The Nines, any of the St Mary's Charity Shops or from St Mary's Hospice, Ulverston. For more information please call 01229 580305 or email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Kendal Torchlight Procession

On behalf of the patients and staff of St Mary's Hospice, we would like to thank all of those involved for giving your time and effort to support St Mary's at the Torchlight Procession street collection in Kendal on Friday night or at the the Westmorland Shopping Centre, Kendal in the afternoon. During the day volunteers collected a total of £299.30 and in the evening £990.51 making a grand total of £1278.81. All funds raised will enable St Mary's to continue to provide comprehensive supportive and palliative care to adults in South Cumbria.

We really appreciate all the help we received and we look forward to seeing you again in 2010.

We would like to thank Neil and Sue Little who raised £326.42 for St Mary's!

The couple organised a rowing machine marathon at Kendal Morrisons. A staggering total of 50,000 meters (31 miles) was achieved between them in just under 3 hours!

Neil Little would like say: "Our thanks go to the Manager, staff and customers of Morrisons in Kendal and to my work colleagues at Mardix in Kendal."

Do you fancy a fun and exciting challenge with the added bonus of making a difference at the same time? There are hundreds of enjoyable ways to help raise funds for St Marys! If you would like to see your innovative idea come to life please email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk or call our Fundraising Team on 01229 580305.

Celebrate the lives of people you love...

Christmas is a time of celebration and reflection, but can also be an emotional time for many of us. At this very special time of year, one of the most important hospice events takes place. Light up a Life is the opportunity to remember and honor significant people in our lives.

This year Light up a Life will be held on:
Wednesday 2nd December at Barrow Town Hall, 4pm
Sunday 6th December at St Mary's Catholic Church Ulverston, 4pm

In return for a donation, a light will be placed on the Hospice tree. The dark winter nights during December will be illuminated and remind us all of the importance that light has in our lives. The lights shine as a celebration of the life of someone who has been dear to us, whether family or a close friend.

If you would like to add a light to our tree in memory of a loved one, you can download a nomination form from www.stmaryshospice.org/lual

If you would like us to post you a nomination form you can call our fundraising team on 01229 580305 or email info@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Trash to Cash

Reef TV are making a third series of the BBC1 programme 'Trash to Cash', that involves people raising money for charities and good causes across the UK.

The show will help people recycle, refurbish and repair the clutter in their homes in order to raise money for themselves and a good cause of their choice. Half of the money they raise will be for a personal project, and the other half will be donated to charity. The producers of the show have approached Help the Hospices and asked whether the friends and supporters of any local hospices would like to be involved in the show, to raise funds for the hospice they support.

The TV team will help them sell anything and everything that they no longer need, with a team of experts who help to make money by selling items through newspaper ads, local dealers, scrap merchants, salvage yards, auctions and a garage sale.

If you know someone whose home is crammed with clutter and would be happy to donate half of the money they raise to charity please contact Hannah from our fundraising team on 01229 580305 or email hannah@stmaryshospice.org.uk

The series will be filmed throughout August and September and we are trying to find people to take part as soon as possible!

Hospice Heroes Rise to Challenge

Spectators at the Hospice Heroes cross-country fund-raiser would have been forgiven for thinking Christmas had come early.

That's because one of the runners turned up as Santa Claus. But the outfit was not enough to earn the man the prize for best fancy dress. Instead that gong went to Keith Muldoon, who dressed as a caveman.

The event held on Saturday 15 August at Hawcoat Sports Club in Barrow was the first men-only, 5k fun run held by St Mary's but attracted some 90 entries.

David Fulford was first home in 19 minutes 16 seconds. Peter Savage was only a few strides behind and took second place. Ashton Coward came third.

The honour for most money raised went to Ross Taylor, who brought in £580.

Hospice fund-raising manager Zoe Guest said they decided on a fund-raising run for the men with fancy dress optional. She said "We have a ladies' Walk to Remember at night and thought this would be a good idea. It has been a succeess and we'll sit down, as we always do after an event, and have a look at the format for next year."

The hospice is BAE's main charity. As well as shipyard workers, the entrants included some whose relatives have been comforted by hospice care. Refreshments were laid on at the sports club.

With thanks to North West Evening Mail for use of article.

To view all of the photographs from the event please click here.

Thank you to Mr & Mrs Thompson of Ulverston

We would like to thank Mr & Mrs Thompson who live in Ulverston for raising £350. The money was raised at Mrs Thompson's birthday party in memory of Ronnie Hartley and was kindly donated to St Mary’s.

Pictured: Mr Thompson, St Mary's Medical Director Helen Clayson, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Hartley.

BAE Charity Challenge

The BAE Charity Challenge is a company-wide fund-raising and volunteering programme. It was established in 1990 and operates at more that 100 sites across BAE Systems and with their joint venture partners in five countries. The company matches funds raised and gives extra financial support to charities that provide employee volunteering opportunities.

In July 2008 BAE in Barrow chose St Mary's Hospice as their supported charity until October 2009. As part of the ongoing partnership programme, on the 9th July 2009, the St Mary's staff were delighted that Mr John Hudson, Managing Director from BAE Submarine Solutions in Barrow and colleagues from the Charity Challenge team took time out of their busy schedules to come to the Hospice. The visit was an opportunity for the BAE staff to learn more fully about the work of St Mary's and to see how their ongoing support is helping to improve the lives of those with life-limiting conditions in South Cumbria.

A big thank you to Mr & Mrs Redette of Askam!

We would like to thank Mr & Mrs Redette of Duke Street, Askam for raising £700. The money was raised in lieu of gifts at Mr Redette’s 70th Birthday and was kindly donated to St Mary’s.

A big thank you to Edward and Edith Wilson of Sandgate Farm!

We would like to thank Edward and Edith Wilson of Sandgate Farm, Flookburgh, for raising £1415 for St Mary's.

The couple have an interesting farming history. Following in Edward's fathers and grandfathers footsteps, the family has worked on Sandgate Farm since 1840. Astoundingly their family's history in agriculture can be traced back as far as 1680! Edward and Edith have now been happily married and farming together for 50 years. They have 5 children who also all work in agriculture and 12 grandchildren to keep them busy!

To celebrate their 50 years of marriage and farming together the couple held a 50th Anniversary party at Holker Hall Courtyard. The money raised in lieu of gifts was kindly donated to St Mary's.

A big thank you to Dalton Homing Society!

We would like to thank the Dalton Homing Society for presenting Ray Cassley, fundraiser from St Mary’s, with £2804 from the proceeds of the sale of their club house.

A big thank you to our supporters!

We would like to thank a group of our supporters for raising an amazing £835 in memory of their friend Chris Read. It is a kind and thoughtful way in which to honour his memory.

Pictured:Keith Atkinson, Andrew Sykes, Alec Edmondson and St Mary's Medical Director Helen Clayson.

"Creative therapies helped me to rediscover myself"

Meryl Washington is living proof that Creative therapies work. She was lucky enough to be able to try several different therapies at St Mary's as part of her recovery from breast cancer.

Featured in Amoena Life Magazine.

Please click here to read the article (2.61 MB)