Forge Europa raises funds for Hospice care home & away

On the 3rd October the Forge Europa 100km sponsored cycle ride was completed by eight riders and so far has raised over £31,000 for two very worthwhile causes.

Forge Europa would like to thank all of the local and international businesses that have made a pledge and to everyone who has donated. The money raised will help CAFOD buy 372 bicycles for health care workers in Rwanda, Nigeria and Mozambique, and deliver a significant financial boost of £12,405 for St Mary's Hospice, enabling it to continue delivering vital palliative care and support.

Pictured: Peter Barton and Mark McIntosh of Forge Europa with Zoe Guest St Mary's Funding & Operations Manager.

Joynson Holland's charity partnership

Joynson Holland, the rise and recline chair division of the Willis & Gambier group, has announced a new partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support. The company will donate a minimum of £10 from the sale of every chair to the charity, with the aim of raising £1m within four year. They will also donate 100 chairs, via local retailers around the UK, to worthwhile causes.

Joynson Holland was established in 1892 and is a manufacturer of high quality chairs. Each chair features a quality motor and mechanism system, comes in a choice of leather or fabric, and features the simplistic rise recline and 180° flat bed system. All Joynson & Holland chairs recline 180° to a flat bed position, for maximum sleep comfort.

Joynson Holland chairs are designed to bring comfort and independence at a difficult time of life. The same core values they share with Macmillan, with the peace of mind that only a company with a rich heritage can bring to the consumer. The people supported by Macmillan can sometimes have very restrictive movements, and so motion products are seen as life-improvers in helping them to be independent in their own home. Joynson Holland chairs tip forward to make sitting down and getting up as easy as possible which is essential for people suffering from mobility problems.

Managing Director, Mark Symes says “The partnership with Macmillan is a no-brainer. We produce the type of chairs that Macmillan needs to help their patients “have good days”. That’s why we’re all doing it; to help people suffering from all kinds of mobility problems have a better quality of life. Money will be donated from the sale of every chair, plus we plan to donate 100 chairs across the UK to people who need them the most. This is an exciting, long-term collaboration that we’re all taking very seriously, and we want to ensure we do everything possible to help Macmillan.”

This initiative is believed to be a furniture industry first – a consumer-promoted product being sold in conjunction with a major charity. St Mary’s Hospice was lucky enough to receive one of the 100 chairs to be donated when Joynson Holland stockist, Jeff Dandy Director of Dandy’s Furniture Store Barrow, nominated the charity.

Pictured from left to right: Jeff Dandy presenting the rise & recline chair with Sandra Nield Willis & Gambier Area Sales Manager, Zoe Guest St Mary’s Funding & Operations Manager, Tony Morgan Willis & Gambier Sales Director.

St Mary’s ‘win a car’ super draw a resounding success

Funding & Operations Manager, Zoe Guest, said she was ‘delighted with the local community’s response to St Mary’s second car super draw’. Ticket sales reached a grand total of £37000. She expressed sincere thanks to all who bought tickets and supported the local provider of palliative and supportive care.

After 12 months of ticket sales the draw took place on Friday 10th December. Mrs Williams from Kendal was the absolutely delighted winner of a brand new Ford KA, and she accepted the vehicle’s keys from Linda Johnson of Alan Myerscough Ltd on Wednesday 15th December. Linda said the Ford dealership ‘was delighted to have been part of a successful fundraising campaign for St Mary’s’. Zoe confirmed that there will be another super draw and chance for anyone to win a brand new car, starting in January.

Pictured from left to right: Ray Cassley St Mary's Fundraiser, Linda Johnson of Alan Myerscough Ltd, the lucky winner Mrs Williams from Kendal receiving the keys to her brand new Ford Ka and Jim Goggin Business Development Officer at St Mary's. Ray and Jim worked tirelessly throughout 2010 to sell as many Superdraw tickets as they could and would like to thank all of those who have shown their support for St Mary's through ticket purchases.

A full list of the Superdraw winning numbers can be found here: http://www.stmaryshospice.org/lottery/superdraw.php

Christmas toy tombola draws in shoppers

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who helped out in Morrison's supermarket last week. We managed to collect a grand total of £2078.77 from our 'Christmas Friends' toy tombola. We feel that this is an amazing achievement and thank Morrison's for being so welcoming!

Pictured is our Fundraiser Ray Cassley who did an excellent job at drawing the shoppers in to have a go on our tombola. The little Christmas Friends proved to be a big hit with everyone a winner!

Day Services attendee raises over £1000 at birthday party

We would like to thank St Mary's Day Services attendee Mr George Andrews for donating a fantastic amount of £1350.70. George raised the money at his birthday party on 27th November through the sale of raffle tickets, a cake auction and donations from his family and friends in lieu of birthday gifts.

George would like to thank everyone who donated on the night. He would also like to especially thank his daughter Linda Darrick for helping to organise the party, Graham Standing for the party entertainment and Booth Supermarket for donating raffle prizes and for all of the help in selling the raffle tickets.

Pictured:

Abbey House Fundraising Dinner raises over £1,000

On 25th November Abbey House Hotel hosted a Fundraising Dinner in aid of St Mary's Hospice. Over £1,000 was raised at the event, which featured guest speaker, former Northern Irish football player, Norman Whiteside - who represented his country in two World Cups. Norman played for Manchester United (273 appearances, 66 goals) and Everton, before his career was ended by injury at the age of 26. He won the FA Cup twice during his time playing for Manchester United, in 1983 and 1985. The evening also featured guest comedian Jamie Sutherland and MC Vince Miller.

We would like to thank all of the staff at Abbey House, the guest speakers and all of those who attended the evening making it a great success.

Pictured: Elaine Leadbitter, Abbey House Sales Manager presenting Zoe Guest, St Mary's Funding & Operations Manager with the money.

One less card could make all the difference

This Christmas we’re encouraging fundraisers to send e-cards and make a donation to charity rather than buying Christmas cards. We’ve called it ‘Click a Christmas Wish’.
All it takes is a few clicks.

You can find out how to get involved at:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/click-a-christmas-wish/index.jsp.

You can set up a Virgin Money Giving ‘Click a Christmas Wish’ fundraising page in a matter of minutes and donate the money you would have spent on cards and stamps to your chosen charity through Virgin Money Giving. Then you can get your friends and family involved by sending them our specially designed e-card and encouraging them to add to your fundraising total.

More money goes directly to your chosen charity

By choosing Virgin Money Giving as your fundraising website, you could make a big difference to your chosen charity because we don’t take a penny in profit from donations. And we pass 100% of Gift Aid on. So spread the word. The sooner you set up your 'Click a Christmas Wish' fundraising page the sooner you can start raising more for your charity this Christmas.

If you would like to support St Mary’s Hospice, Ulverston, all you need to do is search for Hospice of St Mary Of Furness when creating your fundraising page.

The Virgin Money Giving Team & St Mary’s Hospice Registered Charity No. 517738

Light up a Life Service, Barrow

Over the past 10 years, thousands of people have sponsored a light on the St Mary’s Hospice trees – families, children donating their pocket money or companies remembering valued members of staff. The lights on the Hospice tree shine as a celebration of the life of someone who has been dear, whether family or a close friend. Lights are also dedicated to commemorate a special moment in life.

At Barrow Town Hall on Wednesday 1st December, hundreds of lights were blessed during our first Light up a Life service for 2010. The service included performances from singers Denis Horan, Amy Shaw and St Paul’s School Choir.

During the service, Zoe Guest, Funding and Operations manager, said: “We know how much this special occasion means to all who dedicate a light to their special someone, in memory of a loved one or to celebrate one of those special moments shared.”

Deputy Mayor, Councillor Ray Guselli, attended the service, along with deputy Mayoress Councillor Jill Heath.

Cllr Guselli said: “Of all the events we have been to this has been the most moving, touching and worthwhile. It was an incredible service.”

Our second service will be held at St Mary’s RC Church in Victoria Road, Ulverston, from 4pm on Sunday.

For more information about Light up a Life click here or call St Mary’s on 01229 580305.

Santas dash to raise cash

The first annual St Mary’s Hospice Santa Dash proved a big hit on Sunday 28th November, as a flurry of red coats and white beards jogged through Ulverston. Local passers-by got quite a shock as a flurry of Santas, of all ages, braved the cold to raise money for the charity.

Setting off from Victoria High School at 1.30pm, men, women and children all got in the festive spirit as they headed down Springfield Road, set on their way by local MP, John Woodcock.

Everyone who entered the 1 mile run/walk got a free Santa Claus costume to keep and a certificate for completing the dash.

Graham Jones, 52, from Dalton, completed the dash with son Rob, 22, in memory of his sister-in-law, who died a couple of years ago. Graham said: “The dash was very enjoyable. I’d definitely do it again next year. It was certainly a new experience running in a Santa costume.”

Rob said: “It was great to be able to raise the profile of the Hospice. Other than the Santa trousers kept falling down it was brilliant!”

Zoe Guest, fundraising and operations manager for St Mary’s Hospice, said: “It has been better than we thought it would be. Everyone seems to have had a really good time. We’ve had 54 entries and I think we can build on that year on year, now that people know what it’s about and how much fun the event is. We would like to thank everyone who took part in the event and also volunteered to support us.”

Stars Shine to aid hospice

The 80’s and early 90’s were revisited on Thursday 25th November when St Mary’s held its own version of Stars in Their Eyes - the fun British Singer impersonation show that saw hundreds of contestants impersonate their favourite showbiz stars.

Local performers came out in force for the chance to mimic their idols and to raise funds to support the Hospice.

The event saw 10 local singers perform firstly as themselves and then after talking to the host for the evening, Mr Pete Murphy, about their job, their life and the universe they then went through the "star door" and (kaboom!) after a few dry ice clouds in the second half of the show they suddenly become the star of their choosing.

Stars in Their Eyes remains one of the UK's most successful shows attracting around 13 million viewers and this showed when hundreds of people filled the Nines, in Barrow for this special event and together raised £1240.

There were special performances during the evening from stars including Marc Bolan, Lady GaGa, Freddie Mercury and Patsy Cline and all for a ticket price of £5!In addition, during the interval the audience was treated to a special performance by Mr Neil McLaughlin as Elvis Presley.

Funding & Operations Manager for St Mary’s, Zoe Guest, said: “All the performers have given up their time for free and the staff at the Nines have let us use their room, which is a fantastic support. I would like to say a big thank you to them all and to everyone who has come along to support St Mary’s. Without the help of the local community we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, and we really appreciate everyone coming to tonight’s event.”

The room, covered in multi-coloured lights, was packed full of applauding people during the show. Host for the evening Pete Murphy, speaking on the night said: “There has been a really nice feeling in the room tonight. Every act we have had on has seemed a little nervous, but they have all done really well. It has been a massive success.”

44th Keswick to Barrow brings in record 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 44th time and £234,576 was raised from the event, which took place in May. On Wednesday 24th 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 nearly 2 million pounds has been raised. This year St Mary’s was awarded £14,449 a record individual donation to a single charity. The Hospice cannot thank the organiser’s and walkers enough for this wonderful contribution.

Howard Graves Completes New York City Marathon

We are very pleased to tell you all that on the 7th November, Howard Graves from Broughton Beck, successfully completed the New York City Marathon. The New York Marathon is a major annual marathon covering a distance of 42.195 km / 26.219 miles. The course runs through all five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world.

New York 2010 was to be Howard's first overseas marathon and he wanted to mark the occasion by raising money for his local hospice, St Mary's. Howard commented: "St Mary's provides a fantastic service to the local community in Furness and the South Lakes region, but in the present economic climate needs even more help to raise funds so that it can maintain the vital work that it does.”

Howard completed the marathon in a time of 4 hours and 11 minutes. He said: "It was a brilliant day - the crowds and the weather were fantastic."

Howard would like to thank all of those who sponsored him. If you haven't already done so, it's still not too late at www.justgiving.com/howardgraves

Howard has already passed his original target of £1,000 and is well on his way to his new target of £1,500!

Got Talent? Enter the 30/30 Charity Challenge & represent St Mary’s Hospice!

Local people in Cumbria are being given the opportunity to step into the talent spotlight and win a share of £2000 for their chosen charity in the 30/30 Charity Challenge launched by Furness Building Society.

We are looking for as many people as possible to step up and take part and raise funds for St Mary’s Hospice. If you don’t think you have the talent then please pass this information on to anyone who you know who would like to participate to raise money for us.

The talent can be anything from singing, dancing or playing an instrument to magic, comedy or juggling! But it has to be entertaining and fun. The ideal way to record the video audition is on a mobile phone, but it can also be captured on a computer webcam or on a digital camera and can feature a single entertainer or a group. Film clips should ideally be submitted in an MP4 format.

The video clips should be sent to info@lakestv.net with name, age, contact number and details of which charity they are representing. Alternatively the video clip can be handed in at a Furness Building Society branch or at any of the Society’s agents. Please submit your clip as soon as possible!

The best 12 individuals or groups will be invited to perform live on stage in the North West 30/30 Charity Challenge Grand Final on December 3 at the Coronation Hall in Ulverston, Cumbria. Judging will be by text message, audience votes and a panel of experts to decide who gets the cash prizes for their charity; £1,000 for the winner and a further £1000 to be divided amongst runners-up.

Vote for Help the Hospices to be the Football League's Charity of the Season

Help the Hospices has been shortlisted as one of six charities to be the Football League’s charity of the season 2011/12. The vote is open to football fans and all members of the public and is open until Wednesday 8 December. Should they be successful Help the Hospices have proposed twinning each of the 72 clubs in the Football League with their local hospice(s) for fundraising. They are currently aiming to raise £500,000 for Marie Curie.

Help the Hospices needs all hospices to encourage their supporters and staff to log on to the Football League website to cast their vote for Help the Hospices. A vote for Help the Hospices is a vote for a local club to support our hospice.

http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/CharityVote/0,,10794~1778615,00.html

Unfortunately not every hospice will be involved in the partnership but they are asking all hospices to encourage their supporters to cast their vote as it will mean the League supporting hospice care in 2011/12.

More information about the clubs in the Football League can be found at www.football-league.co.uk

Sponsored Skydive raises £285!

We would like to thank John Wright for bravely taking part in a sponsored 10,000 feet freefall Skydive in aid of St Mary's Hospice. John's jump, held at the North West Parachute Centre, Flookburgh, was a birthday gift from his wife Julie who is an Inpatient nurse at St Mary's. Jumping in memory of Jack Wright and Thelma Gardiner, John raised a fantastic amount of £285.

Pictured: John presenting his cheque to Helen Adams, friend and nurse at St Mary's.

If you feel as brave as John did and you would like to take part in a sponsored skydive to raise much needed funds for St Mary's, please email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Lakeland Country Fair raises £500!

We would like to thank all of those involved in the Lakeland Country Fair, held on 15th August in Torver. The event raised an amazing £500 for St Mary's Hospice.

The help we receive from the local community is very special and it is what enables St Mary's to continue to provide comprehensive supportive and palliative care for adults in South Cumbria.

Pictured: Richard Walton, Chairman and Alison Bolt, Secretary of Lakeland Country Fair Committee present a cheque to Zoe Guest, Funding & Operations Manager or St Mary's Hospice.

Vote for St Mary’s Hospice to benefit from the NatWest Community Fund

The NatWest Community Fund forms commitment to support the communities that they work in. They have received over 18,000 nominations for the fund and regional panels and have selected shortlists of three charities/projects for each local area.

St Mary’s Hospice has made it to that shortlist!

Simply use the form on the Community Fund website to find the shortlist for your area and then vote for the charity or project which you think deserves to benefit most from their support.

The charity or project with the most votes will receive £3,000 with the two runners up receiving £1,000 each. Vote now.

https://communityfund.natwest.com/Vote

There are 16 days left to vote!!

To find out more about the community fund: https://communityfund.natwest.com/Home/About

Dalton Angel Trail 2010

You may know that Daltonians already think of Dalton as the Christmas capital of Furness with the various events which are put on at Christmas time – and this year a new event is taking place which is being organised jointly by Dalton United Reformed Church and Dalton Methodist Church.

This new event is called the Angel Trail. Angels feature many times in the bible, including several times in the Christmas story, bringing a message from God to a particular person or people. A number of ‘angels’ will bring a Christmas message to Dalton during Advent through the Angel Trail. The schools in Dalton have made Angel collages to display around the town. Each collage will display a letter. People will be invited to buy an entry form for £1 before going round the town to find the angels and collect the letters. The letters will spell out a Christmas message. All correct entries will be entered into a draw, with a small prize for the winner. All money from the entries will be donated to St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston.

The Angels will be displayed from Advent Sunday November 28th until Christmas Eve December 24th. One of the Angels will be on display in the St Mary’s Dalton shop, Market Street, so keep an eye out!

For more information about the Dalton Angel Trail please contact Rev Anne Hufton on 01229 812439 or email ann@hufton.co.uk

The Great Salford Swim

Michelle Milburn has been raising money for both St Mary’s Hospice, Ulverston and St John’s Hospice, Lancaster, by taking part in The Great Salford Swim. We’ll let Michelle tell you why she chose to take part in the swim...

“Why did I take part in the 1 mile Swim???

I wanted to help raise money, to enable more people to be cared for in their own home. Just as myself, I'm sure most of you have been touched by the effects of cancer some time in your life whether it be yourself, family or friends.

I watched the Great North Swim last year from the Low Wood Hotel, Windermere. The swimmers made it look easy. My mum had just been diagnosed with lung cancer and a brain tumour and although I had not swum for about 20 years, I thought this would be a good challenge for me and to raise money for both Hospices. My mum died in January this year and her last few months were spent at home in familiar surroundings with family and friends. This was made possible with the help of St John's Hospice outreach service who gave us support and a break. I have also had other family members looked after in St Mary's Hospice.

I therefore started my challenge and was swimming on a regular basis. I soon got back in to the rhythm and was able to swim 1 mile in the pool in less than 40 minutes. On Tuesday the 20th July, I bought my wet suit and went for my first swim in Coniston Lake. I found swimming in the lake very difficult compared to the swimming pool. The water was brown and I couldn't see more than 2 ft into the water. It was very daunting and I worried about what was lurking beneath the surface! I also found that for the first five minutes, the cold water took my breath away and I was unable to do my usual stroke. Swimming further out to the middle of the lake, I started to doubt myself and felt anxious that there was no bottom or sides to touch and we just had to keep going. The Skies were dark, it was raining and cold. "What am I doing out here”, I asked myself. With friends support I continued and started to enjoy it. It was an amazing feeling bobbing around in the middle of a lake looking at the view with heavy rain falling. I finished the swim although I kept on going off course, this adding to the distance.

I was originally entered in the Great North Swim, but when it was cancelled on the 4th September, I was really disappointed; the weather was good, I felt prepared and was hyped up ready for the challenge.

The plan changed. The British Gas Great Salford Swim on the 26th September was a new event for 2010 – the latest addition to the British Gas Great Swim series. A one-mile outdoor swim taking place in Salford Quays, Manchester and to my surprise there were spaces left. So I registered. It might not have been in the beautiful lakes with the back drop of the mountains, but it was an opportunity to complete the one mile swim. To my surprise it was very well organised, the water was clear and I could see the bottom. After the initial 200 meters where swimmers were fighting to find a space, the punching and kicking stopped and I settled in to a rhythm. It was also nice to see my family walking along side of the Docks supporting me. I completed the 1 mile course in 36.53 minutes.

I would like to thank all of you who donated and supported me. A fantastic total of £860.16 was raised, working out at £413.58 for St Mary’s Hospice and £446.58 for St John’s Hospice.

All sponsors who left their name and address were automatically entered in to a free prize draw for a 2 night stay, self catering, at 2 Laigh Isle, Isle of Whitworth. This was drawn on 27th September and the lucky winner was from Barrow in Furness!" www.holidayisleofwhithorn.co.uk

Curry Night Raises a Hot £652 for Hospice

We would like to thank everybody involved in the Curry Night which was held on Friday 22nd October at Kendal Golf Club. Organised by Judi Matthews and her husband Kevin, the evening was a great success, raising £652.00 for St Mary’s Hospice.

The evening was held in the Maze Room which was kindly provided free of charge by the club. Curries were prepared by Israel Bhooshi, a chef who specialises in preparing traditional Southern Indian meals in peoples own homes. Israel wanted to lend his culinary skills for the evening to help raise money for the hospice, as he lost his own sister to breast cancer in Hyderabad, India last year. After the feasting, a disco and karaoke by Tom Powney entertained people late into the night.

Many thanks go out to the Kendal businesses who donated raffle prizes; Bridge Street Restaurant, Deja-vu French Restaurant, Bargain Booze and The Body Shop. Judi would also like to thank all of her friends who donated prizes, organised the quiz and the Irish Bingo, and to her husband Kevin, who worked tirelessly to promote the event and sold over £100 worth of raffle tickets on the night.

Photo 1: Pictured in the photograph, from left to right, is Phil, Sarah, Mark, (all members of staff at the Golf Club) and Israel just before the food was served.

Photo 2: Event organiser Judi Matthews presenting the nights earnings to Dora Greenway of the St Mary’s Fundraising Team.

With thanks to Derek Lindow

We would like to thank Derek Lindow and his wife for presenting St Mary's with a very generous donation of £750. Derek kindly asked his guests for a donation to St Mary's at his recent 80th birthday celebrations.

Pictured: Derek Lindow and his wife presenting a cheque to Zoe Guest, Funding & Operations Manager of St Mary's.

£24,000 for Hospice Care Home and Away

On the 3rd October the Forge Europa 100km sponsored cycle ride was completed by eight riders and so far has raised over £24,000 for two very worthwhile causes.

A great big thank you goes out to everyone for their kind support!

Forge Europa would like to thank all of the local and international businesses that have made a pledge and to everyone who has already donated. The money raised will help CAFOD buy more than 250 bicycles for health care workers in Rwanda, Nigeria and Mozambique, and deliver a significant financial boost for St Mary's Hospice, enabling it to continue delivering vital palliative care and support.

Please help us to collect all pledges and donations by the closing date on 29th October 2010, by using the Justgiving sites or by sending your pledges direct to Forge Europa. If you have any questions, please call Julie Barton at Forge Europa on +44 (0)1229 580000.

www.justgiving.com/CumbriaWayCycleRide

www.justgiving.com/CumbriaWayCycleRideCAFOD

Dental nurse & pal cycle London to Paris for Charity

Ulverston Dental Nurse, Becky Burch has raised thousands of pounds for charity in a 300-mile cycle ride from London to Paris.

Mrs Burch arrived in the French capital on Saturday 11th September, after completing the gruelling four-day ride.

So far, Mrs Burch has raised £4,500, which will be split between St Mary's Hospice and The Rumic Foundation Trust, which helps disadvantaged children across south Cumbria.

She completed the challenge with friend Sarah Dacosta, 45 who did the cycle ride in memory of her father, Ulverston physiotherapist Joe Harrison, who died recently. Mrs Dacosta raised £1,700 for her local hospice in Bedfordshire.

Mrs Burch works at Benson Street Dental Surgery, and Avanti Capitola wine bar, both in Ulverston. She started cycling as a hobby but was inspired to take up the London to Paris challenge this year.

The London to Paris challenge is split into three stages: London to Calais, Calais to Amiens and Amiens to Paris. The pair arrived at the finish line in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Mrs Burch said: "This has been one of the hardest but most rewarding experiences of my life.

"The journey was much tougher than either of us imagined but we have had a fantastic time; and although it has been incredibly challenging, we have met some truly inspirational people.

"I am so grateful to the people who have sponsored and supported me in this, especially the Capitola staff who were key in helping me to raise such a fantastic amount. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people in the area."

Mrs Dacosta said: "It was an amazing experience and I was proud to have done this in memory of my dad. We have had incredible support from our friends and families."

With thanks to North West Evening Mail for the article.

Have you got a talent? ...then its your chance to shine!

FURNESS 30/30 CHARITY CHALLENGE

Local people in Cumbria are being given the opportunity to step into the talent spotlight and win a share of £2000 for their chosen charity in the 30/30 Charity Challenge launched by Furness Building Society.

We are looking for as many people as possible to step up and take part and raise funds for St Mary’s. If you don’t think you have the talent then please pass this information on to anyone who you know who would like to participate to raise money for us.

The Furness 30/30 Charity Challenge invites charity supporters to show their talent in a 30 second video clip to be sent into Lakes TV. The best of the clips will appear online on the station’s website www.lakestv.net. Performance clips will feature on the Lakes TV broadcast on Sky Channel 203, which goes out weekdays at 8.00pm and weekends at 4.00pm. The 30/30 Charity Challenge area of the Furness Building Society website www.furnessbs.co.uk will also be linked to the Lakes TV website.

The best 12 individuals or groups will be invited to perform live on stage in the North West 30/30 Charity Challenge Grand Final on December 3rd at the Coronation Hall in Ulverston, Cumbria. Judging will be by text message, audience votes and a panel of experts to decide who gets the cash prizes for their charity; £1,000 for the winner and a further £1000 to be divided amongst runners-up.

The talent can be anything from singing, dancing or playing an instrument to magic, comedy or juggling! But it has to be entertaining and fun. The ideal way to record the video audition is on a mobile phone, but it can also be captured on a computer webcam or on a digital camera and can feature a single entertainer or a group. Film clips should ideally be submitted in an MP4 format.

The video clips should be sent to info@lakestv.net with name, age, contact number and details of which charity you are representing. Alternatively the video clip can be handed in at local Furness Building Society branches in Millom, Barrow, Ulverston, Dalton or Grange-over-Sands, or at any of the Society’s other branches or agents across the North West. Anyone wishing to take part has 30 days - from October 6 to November 5 - to submit their 30 second audition clip; hence the 30/30 challenge.

Furness Building Society Chief Executive Rob Cairns explains: “The Society is organising the competition to help make everyone more aware of the need to support charities in the current tough economic climate. But we are also hoping that people will enjoy taking part and have fun doing something for their chosen charity."

Further details of the 30/30 Charity Challenge can be found on the Furness Building Society website www.furnessbs.co.uk, together with the rules of the competition and a full list of branches and agencies. In addition we will be placing information on our website and posters will be displayed in the local area.

St Mary's Hospice Gets on Board Affinity Savings Campaign

St Mary’s Hospice is literally getting on board a new ‘You Save, We Give’ campaign from Furness Building Society, designed to spread the word about the good work of the charity and the fund raising benefits of special affinity saving accounts.

The campaign using Ad-Vans will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people across the North West, with Furness Building Society on one side of the travelling billboards and the charity’s own advertising message on the other.

St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston provides free dedicated palliative care for people with life limiting conditions, as inpatients or at day clinics and therapy sessions, and at home. It is funded by the community it serves in South Cumbria and to maintain the Hospice services costs around £2.4 million a year, of which £2 million (£6000 per day) must be raised from supporters.

St Mary’s is one of the most successful affinity accounts, raising more than £840,000 so far for the hospice over more than 10 years. Under the affinity arrangement, St Mary’s supporters open special instant access accounts with the Building Society, and enjoy a return on their savings. But the Society also agrees to give from its own funds an annual cash payment based on the total average balance in all the St Mary’s Hospice accounts.

Furness Building Society is a UK leader in the creation and development of affinity savings accounts with almost 20 now active for North West organisations.

Furness Building Society Chief Executive Rob Cairns says that affinity accounts are a vital part of the local commitment of the Society. He explains: “As a mutual building society the deposits of our local savers provide the funding for local mortgages and that link is at the heart of our business based on mutual benefit.

“In the same way the affinity accounts can potentially deliver a higher return for savers because the interest is calculated on the combined balance of the affinity account, and the Society recognises the business benefit in the form of an annual payment to the local charity. Again affinity accounts offer mutual benefits that work for everyone concerned because the more supporters save, the more the Society gives.”

For St Mary’s Hospice, Zoe Guest, Funding & Operations Manager commented: “In the current economic climate charities are under financial pressure and so it is important for us to maximise every possible opportunity to raise funds. We are immensely grateful for every donation we receive and our supporters put a huge amount of effort and dedication into working on our behalf. The affinity account has the unique advantage that it raises money for us while also providing a higher rate of interest return on savings for our supporters.”

St Mary’s Hospice is one of three charities featured in the advertising, which all have affinity accounts with Furness Building Society; the other two are the North West Air Ambulance and the Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

For more information on affinity accounts visit www.furnessbs.co.uk, or call in at your local branch or Furness Building Society agency.

£5000 presented from the Thrift Charitable Trust

As many people are aware, it costs approximately £2.4 million for St Mary’s Hospice to provide all of its services each year and of that we need to raise £2 million. The help we receive from the local community is very special and we are extremely grateful to the Thrift Charity for awarding us this very generous donation of £5000. We really appreciate the support of the Thrift trustees at this particularly difficult time for our charity.

The picture shows Colin Biggs MBE from the Thrift Charitable Trust and his team of volunteers presenting St Mary’s with a cheque for £5000 at the Thrift Charity Shop in Church Street, Barrow.

Body Shop Party & Ladies Evening a Great Success

We do hope that all those who attended our Body Shop Party and Ladies Evening on Thursday 23rd September had a great time. We are pleased to announce that we made a profit of £618, which is much more than we imagined.

Thank you to everyone who helped with the arrangements and at the event. We will hopefully host a similar event next year - keep up to date with our events calendar.

Eileen's 100th Birthday Celebration raises funds for St Mary's

We would like to thank Mrs Eileen Muldoon for very kindly donating £320 to St Mary's Hospice. Mrs Muldoon recently celebrated her 100th Birthday and asked for donations to St Mary's rather than gifts.

Many people choose to give a donation to St Mary's, in lieu of gifts, when celebrating a special occasion. Whether it's a special birthday, anniversary, wedding or christening St Mary's can provide your guests with a special card inviting then to give a gift to the hospice. Gifts in celebration are an increasing source of income for St Mary's and we are very grateful to everyone for the generosity they show in helping us in this way.

Contact the fundraising team to discuss your celebrations and gift card requirements on 01229 580305 or email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Shepley Engineers & Sellafield raise £1230

Shepley Engineers Ltd at Sellafield, have been undertaking a cladding replacement project. For each panel replaced safely both Shepley & Sellafield Ltd decided that they would donate £1.50 each to a charity nominated and selected by a committee of the (hands on) workers on the project.

St Mary’s were nominated by Mr Paul Whitehouse (pictured first left) and were delighted to be chosen to receive £1230 on the 23rd September.

This is a fantastic help to St Mary’s and we appreciate their support.

Staff from Tesco Extra Bare All for St Mary's

A sneak peek at the charity calendar
On the 2nd September the staff from Tesco Extra in Barrow in Furness held a celebration evening at the Nines to launch their wonderful new charity calendar.

A group of ladies and gents from the supermarket decided to pose nude for their 2011 edition and to raise funds for their chosen charities: St Mary’s Hospice, North West Air Ambulance and Ostley House Amenities Fund.

All the members of staff who volunteered to be featured in the calendar are featured in a number of poses for different months, performing a variety of everyday tasks around the store. The pictures were very tastefully taken by Kells photography.

A batch of 1500 calendars, sponsored by a number of local businesses, have been printed and are on general sale at the Tesco Extra store in Cornerhouse Park and the Tesco Metro Store at Roose now. You can also call St Mary's Hospice on 01229 580305.

The calendars are available at the Customer Service desk in both outlets and cost £6. All proceeds will go to the charities and the Tesco team hope to raise a grand total of £9000.

We hope that as many people as possible will support the team.

Charities Share Celebration of Community Work

Representatives from three key partner charities joined Furness Building Society at the first Westmorland Gazette Business & Tourism Awards held in Kendal, where the society was commended for its work in the community.

Pictured at the black-tie dinner and presentations are: (left to right front)Anne Burrow from the North West Air Ambulance, Zoe Guest from St Mary’s Hospice, and Sue Thompson from the Rosemere Cancer Foundation. With them are their hosts (left to right back) Rob Cairns, Furness Building Society Chief Executive, Steve Pryer, Finance Director and Ian Bell, General Manager, Marketing and Development.

The Society also sponsored the awards, which recognised achievements by businesses from Cumbria, north Lancashire and north Yorkshire.

Howard to run New York Marathon for St Mary's

On the 7th November, Howard Graves from Broughton Beck is to run the New York Marathon to raise funds for St Mary’s Hospice. The New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon covering a distance of 42.195 km / 26.219 miles. The course runs through all five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 43,659 finishers in 2009. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States.

Howard said “New York 2010 will be my first overseas marathon and I wanted to mark the occasion by raising money for my local hospice, St Mary's in Ulverston. St Mary's provides a fantastic service to the local community in Furness and the South Lakes region, but in the present economic climate needs even more help to raise funds so that it can maintain the vital work that it does.”

You can sponsor Howard at www.justgiving.com/howardgraves

Hospice Chief Executive Exclusive Interview

Further to the recent press coverage of the Hospices financial situation. Please follow the link below to see an interview with St Mary’s Chief Executive, Alan Lodge.

North West Evening Mail Interview

Interview Video

Skydivers raise £4522 for St Mary's!

Imagine standing at the edge of an open doorway in an aircraft flying at 10,000 feet - the noise of the engines and the wind ringing in your ears with only the outline of distant fields 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 29 people did on Saturday 11h September 2010 to help raise money for St Mary’s Hospice, which provides palliative and supportive care for those with life-limiting conditions 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. So far the total raised is an amazing £4522.15!!

Zoe Guest, Funding & Operations 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.”

If you feel brave enough and would like you name to take part in next year’s sponsored skydive please email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Barclays Bank Match Funds Hospice Events

We would like to thank the staff of Barclays Bank, Dalton Road, Barrow for taking part in the annual St Mary's Walk to Remember and raising a grand total of £722. Ladies from the branch raised £361 in sponsorship money which was kindly match funded by their employer.

In addition, we would also like to tank the branch for helping us in arranging our recent Race Night and helping us to raise £1034.65, which also attracted match funding from Barclays of £750. To raise a total of £1784.65 from the event is an amazing achievement and we are extremely grateful for their support.

The help we receive from the local community is very special and it is what enables St Mary's to continue to provide comprehensive supportive and palliative care for adults in South Cumbria.

Both awards from Barclays will prove to be highly beneficial to our Hospice and the many people in the local community we support.

Coal Haul - Raiders Raise Money for Hospice

The lads get loaded up with coal at Canal Foot.

On with the haul!


The finishing line at St Mary's Hospice.

The lads enjoy a well deserved rest.
Persistent heavy rain did not stop a fired up 8 man squad from the Barrow Raiders completing a gruelling coal carrying relay on Sunday 19th September. The Barrow Raiders’ aces swapped a rugby ball for a hefty bag of coal to raise funds St Mary’s. Forward and coal merchant, Brett McDermott, led the charge as the rugby league stars took it in turns to carry a 50kg sack of coal along Ulverston Canal bank and then up Ford Park to the Hospice.

The Raiders spurred one another on as they each took the load from the back of a pickup and carried the weight along the one-mile canal route. A crowd braved the rain to cheer on their heroes at the canal, and as they then made the last push up the hill.

“Just another day at the office,” said Mr McDermott as he easily lifted the bag, but some lads struggled with the grip in the rain. The lads were assisted by Mr McDermott’s father, Ged McDermott, from the family coal business, and volunteers who followed the truck.

Mr McDermott, said: “It was good turnout, despite the weather. The boys enjoyed it, and it was good of them to join in this event which was for such a good cause. We hope to have raised over £1000 for St Mary’s."

Zoe Guest, St Mary’s Hospice fundraising manager, said: “It was absolutely fantastic that the players turned out to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice in this way, especially in the very wet conditions. We really appreciate their support.”

The Barrow Raiders’ coal carriers were: Brett McDermott, Ned Catic, Zeb Luisi, Martin Ostler, Jamie Rooney, Jamie Butler, Chris Young, Chris Larkin and Mark Dixon.