We are excited to share the incredible fundraisers that have taken place across the autumn season to support the Hospice. Thank you and well done to everyone who raised vital funds for our patients and their families across North Hampshire.
Tough Mudder
Three friends took on the Tough Mudder Challenge to raise money for the Hospice as a thank you for the care and support we gave their whole family when one of their dads was with us. It was quite a challenge, they all ended up covered head to toe in mud, but all three completed the challenge and earnt their Tough Mudder medals. They were very dedicated in their fundraising, raising a wonderful £550 for the Hospice!
Golf Day
Another amazing supporter took on the challenge of hosting his own Golf Day in memory of his dad. Hosting your own event is never easy, but he rose to the challenge, arranging a venue, getting teams to sign up to take part and holding a raffle on the day too. As well as this he also took on the Longest Day challenge, which is a golfing challenge where you try to complete as many holes as possible in daylight on the longest day of the year. Collectively these two events raised an incredible £1,500 for the Hospice!
Moon River Concert
Local supporters Rob and Leanne have been performing around Basingstoke for years, from bringing joy to those on their commute by train to brightening the days of those visiting Eastdrop Park, you can regularly find them singing around town. The duo perform well know songs from across the ages, including Moon River and Danny’s Boy, with Rob singing beautifully and Leanne joining with music on the piano. This year they decided to start supporting the Hospice and have had a Hospice collection tin at their performances throughout the summer. They hosted their first concert, Moon River Concert, in Brighton Hill for friends and family and raised a wonderful £150 for the Hospice!
The Mill House Duck Race
The Mill House in North Warnborough held their annual Duck Race in support of the Hospice again this year. They were very lucky with the weather, and had customers arriving from midday to get their seats ready for the duck race setting off at 4pm. The ducks had a great race, with some breaking free from the barrier at the end to keep swimming, and the winning duck was owned by a wonderful supporter of the Hospice. Customers were incredibly generous with their donations on the day and the pub smashed last year’s target, raising a wonderful £2,015 for the Hospice!
Babble Across Britian
Wonderful supporters Wayne and Chris took on the challenge of cycling from Lands End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Scotland to raise money for the Hospice. It was a 9-day challenge where they cycled over 100 miles each day, camping in between. It was a tough journey, they cycled through all weathers, but they made it to the end as a team and thoroughly enjoyed he experience. Collectively they raised over £5,700 for the Hospice!
Interfaith Walk
The Basingstoke Interfaith Group held their annual peace walk for St. Michael’s Hospice in September. This year they mixed up the route, rather than walking to the Town Centre they decided to walk from St. Gabriel’s Church in Popley to St. Michael’s Hospice. It was a very well attended event, with over 50 people attending to do the walk and the Mayor of Basingstoke there to support the event. When they arrived at the Hospice they had refreshments and listed to a few talks from different members of the Hospice to show the breadth of work we do. They raised a wonderful £325 for the Hospice.
“Inter Faith Basingstoke is an informal network of people from diverse faith communities. It is open to individuals from different faith groups and those who agree with and are supportive of our aims. Inter Faith Basingstoke seeks to promote mutual respect and understanding between all faiths and works together to identify and support the needs of all faith groups in Basingstoke. The Inter Faith Peace Walk is a great opportunity to promote harmony and meet people from different faiths and cultures. We celebrate different faiths and their input into our communities.” – Barbara Hudson Owen, Interfaith Group Co-ordinator
Exit 6 Film Festival
The annual Exit 6 Film Festival was back this year, celebrating short films from independent film makers from across the globe. There were Star Wars characters walking around town, famous movie cars in Festival Place and lots of events and films happening in Vue. The day was busy, with lots of people out to attend the festival and lots of interest in the activities happening around town, our lovely Hospice volunteers were collecting donations from the public, raising over £450 for the Hospice!
Basingstoke Half Marathon and 10K
We were back at the Basingstoke Half Marathon, this year supporting the event by running the water stop in Cliddesden. It was a great day with over 1,000 people taking part, running a variety of either 10K or the whole 13 mile half marathon. We saw supporters from across the Hospice, from individuals taking on the challenge in memory of loved ones, to people running to support their businesses and even the wonderful #YNRA team training for their big run to Liverpool in December!
Upton Grey Autumn Festival
The Upton Grey Autumn Festival is an annual Fireworks, Bonfire and after party, held at The Hoddington Arms in Upton Grey. They have supported us for many years, raising thousands over the years. This year they mixed up their fundraising strategy and held more events in the evening, resulting in raising almost double then they have ever raised!
A warm thank you to The Greenham Trust for their remarkable generosity, which has enabled us to raise £50,000 for our Hospice at Home service. This service is a crucial component of our hospice care, allowing patients and their families to receive compassionate support in the comfort of their own homes. We are truly thankful for The Greenham Trust’s support.
We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to The St. James Place Foundation for their kindness in supporting our Hospice services. We were honoured to receive a £1,500 cheque during their visit to the Hospice. Your generosity plays a vital role in helping us continue to deliver essential services to the patients and families who rely on us most.
Our heartfelt thanks to the KatCanDo charity for their incredible support in helping us purchase two new mattresses for our Inpatient Unit. Their generous grant of £3,156 made it possible for us to purchase these vital mattresses, providing enhanced comfort for our patients by helping to prevent pressure ulcers and improve circulation. These mattresses will significantly contribute to improving the quality of life for patients in our care. We were delighted to have the KatCanDo Grant Committee members to the hospice where they presented us with the cheque—our sincere thanks to them for their kindness and support.
We are also deeply grateful to The Maurice Mulder Charity and The Colefax Charitable Trust for their combined donations of £3,000 toward our Hospice’s core costs. Their generosity is vital in enabling us to continue delivering essential services to the patients and families who rely on us during challenging times.
We are deeply grateful to The February Foundation and The Shanly Foundation for their generous support of our essential project costs for our MND service and our planned Reception Renovation Project. Thanks to their kindness and support, our Hospice can undertake important initiatives that would not have been possible with only statutory funding. Thank you so much for your continued support of our hospice.