Why I’m Stepping Up for St Ann’s

As Chief Executive of St Ann’s Hospice, I see every day the amazing job that our nurses do when caring for patients and their loved ones.

I know that they work tirelessly to ensure that people who come to the hospice receive world-class support, and that whatever their individual needs are, that they’re met with a smile and a friendly warmth that is so important.

But, when we realised that the nurses on our wards walk an average of two miles every day whilst caring for our patients – and often more – we knew we had to do something to recognise their amazing achievements, whilst also raising awareness of the hospice and hopefully inspiring people to help us by raising much-needed funds.

I’ve decided to lead by example, and this September, I’ll be taking part in the brand new Step Up for St Ann’s challenge.  It’s an exciting fundraising initiative which is challenging local people to pledge to walk or run a set distance through the month of September in aid of our patients.

I’ve decided to walk the distance the nurses walk each day whilst providing care – so two miles each day through the month, but people are choosing all sorts of challenges that are achievable within their own lifestyle.

The beauty of Step Up for St Ann’s is that people taking part can choose their own distance or number of steps as a target, and also decide when they want to walk or run to achieve it.  We know people are busy, so they can, for example, add up the distance it takes to walk the school run each day and raise sponsorship for that.  They could try the number of steps it takes to walk home from work a few times a week, or even the distance to the local shop for groceries – or, they could join me in pledging to walk as far as our nurses too. It all adds up, and most importantly, it’s a simple way to raise money for the hospice – whilst getting a bit fitter too.

With so many services operating from our three hospice sites and our nurses in the community, we need to raise £20,000 every single day to keep our doors open.

If 400 people joined me for the challenge, and each raised just £50 in sponsorship, that would pay for a whole day of care.  Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Please help us say thanks to our nurses, and support our patients too.

You can sign up to take part and access lots of free supporting materials on our website at www.sah.org.uk/Step-Up-For-St-Anns or call the hospice fundraising team on 0161 498 3631.

Thanks so much for your support.  Now, where are my trainers…?