Theme: Fundraising

Lymphoedema is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the lymphatics causing swelling of the tissues and it can also predispose people to infection. Lymphoedema can occur anywhere in the body, with half a million people in the UK estimated to have the condition.

Lymphoedema can be present from birth due to congenital or hereditary cause, or it can be a secondary condition that is developed after having another illness such as heart disease and cancer. It can also be caused by trauma and repeated infections which in turn, cause damage to the lymphatic system.

The St Ann’s Lymphoedema team run an outpatients clinic at both of their hospice sites in Heald Green and Little Hulton.

Though the clinic is based in a hospice, most of their patients do not have a palliative condition. Some patients have been coming to the clinic for many years for advice and support to help manage their lymphoedema. Other patients can be discharged once their condition is stable and well managed, but they have the option to self-refer back if needed.

Rachel Underwood is an outpatient at the lymphoedema clinic, she says: “I’ve been an outpatient at St Ann’s Hospice’s Lymphoedema Clinic for the last 4 or 5 years and I’m so grateful for the brilliant team who have supported me so much.

“I had cancer 26 years ago and as a result of the radiotherapy and chemotherapy I developed lymphoedema. At the time of being treated it wasn’t a consequence I thought much about, as you choose any option to save your life.

The Lymphoedema Clinic provide education and practical advice to their patients to teach them how to self-mange their condition. They also measure and assess for compression garments, amongst a variety of other specialised treatments.

For more information about the Lymphoedema Clinic and what St Ann’s Hospice do in the community, see more at SAH.org

We’re asking City and United fans to donate the price of a match day pint to your team’s page in aid of our Build it Together appeal for a much-needed new hospice in Heald Green, Stockport.

Which team will be the first to fund a pallet of bricks, a solar panel, or even a room in the new hospice?

This is the third time we’ve hosted the Donation Derby, and it’s currently 2-0 to Man United. Man United took the victory in June 2023 despite City coming out on top in the FA Cup Final, with fans raising a combined total of over £1,000. It was a repeat of those events in the first derby of this Premier League season, with City winning the match but United taking a narrow victory in the Donation Derby.

If you’re not a fan of either team but still want to get involved and help to build the new hospice, you can! You can donate to the overall campaign on JustGiving instead of the team pages for City and United.

The fundraising pages for the Donation Derby are already open and can be found at the following links:

• Manchester City
• Manchester United
• Donate as a neutral

May the best team win!

The Manchester Donation Derby has been set up by St Ann’s Hospice for the purpose of raising funds for a new hospice in Greater Manchester. The event is not organised or endorsed by the Premier League or the clubs.

On Friday 14th June hundreds of supporters of the hospice will be joining us to take on either the 5km or 10km walk.

Everyone signing up before Sunday 3rd March will also get the benefit of our Early Bird offer, with all tickets discounted.

During the offer registration is £18 for an adult to sign up, with groups of four people or more being £13 per person and walkers aged 11-17 being £10 each.

With entertainment starting from 7pm and the walk commencing at 8pm from Cathedral Gardens, it is sure to be a great event that you could complete with your family, friends or colleagues.

There will be entertainment along the route and post-event refreshments and music to celebrate the support you’ve given to St Ann’s Hospice.

When you sign up to take on this challenge you’ll receive a walker information pack including fundraising tips, a walker number to display on the night, glitter and face painting available on the night and a medal and goody bag.

This event is being sponsored by Betfred, and we ask that each participant supports us by aiming to raise £150 in sponsorship. By raising this amount you’ll make a massive difference to the patients and families the hospice helps every day.

This sunset walk is named to celebrate our pioneering founder Dr Moya Cole OBE, who campaigned vigorously to see a hospice set up in Manchester.

Moya Cole was one of the founders of our Heald Green hospice in Stockport back in 1971 and was also instrumental in the decision for St Ann’s to open a second hospice in Little Hulton in Salford in 1979. Working at the Christie Hospital for over 30 years, she conducted ground-breaking research on breast cancer amongst her many achievements.

Click here to sign up now, or for more information you can ring 0161 498 3631 to speak to the Events Team.

Damian Lacey is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner at our hospice and is taking part in his second Tour de Manc this May.

Damian says: “I did the Tour De Manc last year and absolutely loved it. It was so much fun, the views were brilliant but I am hoping for more sunshine this year!

“I commute to work most days, cycling 20km there and back so I’m always telling people to get on their bike and cycle around.

“I’m hoping to get a group together from St Ann’s Hospice to complete the Tour de Manc with me, it’s great that all levels of ability can take part and I encourage everyone to come along and give it a go.”

Prices start from £30.00 depending on your chosen route but whichever you chose, you get £5 off Tour De Manc prices when you sign up with St Ann’s.

With you discounted place, we ask that you aim to raise a minimum of £150 in sponsorship for us.

Tour de Manc allows you to take in the sights of Greater Manchester and enjoy the fantastic, welcoming atmosphere at this proper Manc cycling sportive, all while fundraising for our patients.

There is a variety of distances to suit riders of all abilities. There are four routes you can choose from: Northern Quarter (32 miles), Manc Challenge (75 miles), Classic Full Manc (108 miles) or the Mad Manc (126 miles).

“From the moment you arrive on the day there is a real build-up of excitement as you take your bike and meet everyone else doing the challenge. There are brilliant staging areas with music and energy that gets you ready to ride!

“I’m hoping for more sunshine this year, particularly at the finish line. I was going to take on the Manc Challenge but in a moment of madness I’ve signed up for the Classic Full Manc so it really will be a challenge!”

To sign up and get on your bike to raise money for St Ann’s Hospice, you can register at www.sah.org.uk/tdm.

If you have any questions about the event please contact our Events Team at events@sah.org.uk or call us on 0161 498 3631.

Nick Shepherd, future-pro Chair, announced that the money raised throughout the night from the raffle would be going towards St Ann’s Hospice’s Build It Together campaign.

An amazing £5795.99 was raised on the night, which will all go towards building a new hospice in Heald Green that is vital for the patients and loved ones at St Ann’s Hospice.

“The current hospice site in Heald Green is an unfit for purpose building, however one that they manage to do incredible things in which is improved by the inspirational people who work there.They turned what should have been a dark time in my families lives to something which I look back on as happy memories.

“This story represents thousands of individuals in hospices across the UK right now and to those of you who may have had experience with hospices before will know what a haven they really are.

“However, you probably have no idea how little funding they really get, only receiving 1/3 of funding from the NHS and needing to raise an additional £20,000 every day to keep the doors open.

Nick attended the Spade in the Ground event at St Ann’s Hospice last year which commemorated the start of the building works that this project has been working towards.

Liz Greenwood, Capital Partnerships Fundraiser at St Ann’s Hospice, says: “I had a wonderful evening at the Made in Manchester Awards celebrating everyone who was nominated and recognising the work they’ve done.

For more information on how you could support the Build It Together campaign, please see here.

“St Ann’s was very close to the choir’s hearts as the hospice had cared for one of our own members – a very dear friend – whom we sadly lost last year.

“We love what we do; we sing from our hearts and enjoy making people smile.”

Offerton Methodist Choir came to our Heald Green site for a cheque presentation earlier this month, so that we could thank the choir for raising a brilliant £5,100.

This money is going towards our Build It Together campaign, which is raising the final £2 million we need to build a new hospice next door to our current building in Heald Green which is 150 years old.

From 10k races to marathons on Sue’s list for the year, she’s embarking on a very busy running schedule!

Sue says: “My mum spent the last two weeks of her life at St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green as she had a brain tumour, she died when she was 58 years old. It took me a long time to go back into the hospice, but when I did go back it was to buy some Christmas cards.

“I realised what a lovely place the hospice is, not what you’d think a hospice is at all. After I started to visit, I thought it would be nice to volunteer which I’ve now been doing for 15 years.

Sue is dedicating herself to taking part in a race a month this year to test her limits and bring together friends and family in supporting her.

She has already run the Tatton 10k this month and is running the Hale 10k in February and the Wilmslow Half Marathon in March.

Other notable races Sue is taking part in are the Manchester Marathon, Might Stride Kiltwalk in Glasgow and Palma Half Marathon in Majorca.

Sue says: “I’ve been running three times a week and my rest days include yoga, I’ll be following a plan all year to prepare for each race. My friends kept asking me to run the Manchester marathon, and I’d booked a few races in for the start of the year so I thought I may as well do one race each month!

“I’m so glad to be doing a variety of races around the country and further afield, it will be great to be together with my friends who are joining me for races and who have already supported me.

“I’m aiming to raise £2,000 by the end of the year to support St Ann’s who are so close to my heart. The hospice has been part of my life for 28 years and I would like it to be there for a very long time to come.

“That’s why I’m fundraising for the Build It Together appeal which is building the new hospice in Heald Green to continue providing vital care for patients, loved ones and our community.”

Please visit Link to support Sue in raising as much as she can for our hospice.