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