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.