Theme: Fundraising

St Ann’s Hospice are hosting their annual Golf Day on Thursday 16th May to raise money for their charity’s Build it Together appeal for a much-needed new hospice in Heald Green, Stockport.

JP & Brimelow estate agents have been supporters of St Ann’s Hospice for over 10 years and are supporting the charity again at the Golf Day.

Eddie Ellis, Owner of JP & Brimelow, says: “We’ve been supporting St Ann’s for a long time, the hospice has a personal meaning and I wanted to support a charity after meeting other patients and those in the local area with connections to St Ann’s.

“Every year I look forward to the Golf Day, I always invite friends, clients or contractors to join my team and get them to learn about the great things St Ann’s Hospice is doing.

“The Golf Day always attracts like-minded business owners and entrepreneurs with successful businesses, so I enjoy the social aspect of the day too. Everyone who takes part knows that St Ann’s is close to their heart and we all have a special connection with the charity.

“I’m so glad I can help to continue raising funds and awareness for St Ann’s Hospice, they deserve all the support they can get.”

On arrival you can meet your team and guests for a light lunch, followed by a shotgun start at 1pm. There are complimentary refreshments that are available at the Halfway House, and on course prizes too.

You can then relax after the main event with a delicious dinner, followed up by a presentation to competition winners and a further chance to win with the raffle and auction.

Sam Jadhav, Principal Associate at Shoosmiths law firm, attended St Ann’s Golf Day last year. He said: “It was a brilliant day (despite the weather) and very well put together. Dunham Forest is a beautiful course, the company was great, and our clients loved it.”

There are limited places left for this popular event, so make sure to book your space on one of the three entry packages. Prices start from £695 per team, and more information can be found at www.sah.org.uk/golf where you can also register.

I am a longstanding member of Sale and District Lions Club and requested the club members agree to raising money for St Ann’s Hospice in honour of my friend who was cared for by the local hospice.

Steve spent the final few weeks of his life in the Heald Green site at St Ann’s Hospice last summer, with myself and my group of school friends appreciating the support he was given in this time.

Steve received fantastic treatment from the staff at St Ann’s, I was so impressed at how he was looked after and there was a lovely atmosphere in the hospice, which I didn’t expect before visiting.

Hospices are not places of doom and gloom; St Ann’s had a welcoming feeling when I visited to say my farewell to Steve and I’ve wanted to help them in some way since that day.

Every year Sale and District Lions Club hosts a comedy dinner for its male members, friends and family, and we choose a charity to support with the event. I organise the event each year and chose St Ann’s for this year’s event to commemorate Steve and raise much-needed funds for the hospice, with many other club members also having had personal experience of St Ann’s.

We were able to raise £1,000 on the night of the comedy dinner, with my group of school friends and Steve’s son and friends coming along to get together. All in all there were 70 people in attendance who were only too willing to support this very worthwhile charity.

The comedy dinner took place on the six month anniversary of Steve’s passing, so it was a lovely event that was very personal to those of us who knew Steve.

There were two comedians who were the entertainers at the event, with a raffle and other games also taking place to raise money for St Ann’s Hospice.

If you’d like to support St Ann’s Hospice and take part in a fundraising event or challenge to ensure the care they provide to local people like Steve can continue, please click here.

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.

My lymphoedema is in my left leg and has been described as a severe case by the hospital that diagnosed it.

However, I’m very determined to do most things in life as I had done before, and still go on walks but wear the compression garments that help me so much.

This illness has obviously affected my life in so many ways and it isn’t easy wearing the garments which are a real nuisance, but I’m grateful that I can manage my leg and have as much support as I do.

The St Ann’s Clinic are amazing and have supported me so much. I used to travel quite far for treatment, but I’m glad I can go to the Heald Green hospice site which is just round the corner from me.

There is no cure for lymphoedema so you have to stay positive and appreciate any improvements, even if they are small or temporary.

The clinic have always been there for me and I can get back in touch with them whenever I need to, they get back to me so quickly and I’d definitely recommend the clinic to others with lymphoedema.

The St Ann’s team are used to seeing all kinds of lymphoedema and weren’t shocked when they saw the size of my leg which I really appreciated. They have so much knowledge around lymphoedema and are very accommodating with me.

Last year I had bandaging on my leg to lose the fluid and I went three times a week to the clinic which really helped.

When people think of a hospice they often don’t think of people going there who aren’t having end of life treatment, but they do brilliant work with outpatients and I couldn’t recommend them enough.

For more information on the Lymphoedema Clinic and other services that St Ann’s Hospice provide, please go to www.sah.org.uk/how-we-help/our-services.

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.