Little Hulton News and Booze raises £10,000 for St Ann’s
Newsagent Stan Taylor admits he is lucky to be alive after catching Covid-19. His family feared he would not reach his 60th birthday in June after he was seriously ill with the virus early in lockdown.
Stan, who runs Little Hulton News and Booze with his brother-in-law Mike Fisher, was put into an induced coma and spent a week on a ventilator.
Thankfully, he is now back at work part-time and was delighted to receive a letter from St Ann’s Hospice informing him the shop – known as Stan’s – has raised £10,000 for the charity.
The donations came from loyal customers who have been putting loose change into a collection box for several years.
Stan, who lives in Tyldesley, said:
I was very poorly and my wife Jane and our family were warned that I might not make it. Apparently, there were 38,000 likes for me on social media and the goodwill messages included one from Manchester United. There was obviously a lot of love out there for me and fortunately, I managed to pull through. I still struggle to breathe and have fluid on my left lung but I'm much better. My birthday bucket list was meant to include a visit to New York, but I'm just glad to be here and the illness has changed my perception on life. Stan Taylor
The newsagents on Hulton Avenue is round the corner from our hospice site in Little Hulton and has been run by Mike and Stan for the last 20 years.
Mike, who is married to Stan’s sister Janet, said:
We both grew up around here so know what St Ann's means to the community. We've thanked our customers for their generous donations on our Facebook page and to be honest, most of the money has come from schoolchildren who've been putting the odd bit of change in the box. Mike Fisher
Chief Executive, Eamonn O’Neal said:
We can’t thank Stan, Mike and all of their amazing customers enough for their support – what a phenomenal amount raised for our patients. We’re so pleased that Stan is starting to feel better and grateful that despite his own health and what he’s been through, that he still thinks about others in the local community like this is incredible. Collection tins like the one in Little Hulton News and Booze make such a difference and the funds raised – however big or small – really do help us to continue providing care to the thousands of people we support every year. We’d love to hear from anyone who has an organisation or business where they think they could have a tin too, as we’re on the look-out for new locations for them, especially as many of our fundraising events and other activities have had to be postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic. Eamonn O'Neal
To contact our hospice about raising money or having your own collection tin to support local patients, please call 0161 498 3631 or email fundraising@sah.org.uk.