Theme: Fundraising

No wonder primary school teacher Kevin McGrath struggled to stay awake doing his weekend homework! It involved running four miles every four hours for 48 hours.

A gruelling 48-mile challenge saw him raise £3,385 for our hospice where his late mother-in-law Tina Burkinshaw was a patient.

Tina, from Urmston, had been ill for some time before she died of ovarian cancer in July 2019, weeks after her 50th birthday.

Tina died just before her daughter Mia married Kevin, a wedding she had helped organise. The care she received inspired Kevin to push his body to the limit by running almost two marathons.

Kevin, from Davyhulme, said: “It was tough and the most difficult part was sleep deprivation. The temperature was down to zero during the night and it took me an average of 31 minutes to run four miles.

“Each time I had a hot shower afterwards and then sat in my pyjamas most of the time waiting for the next run. On the last two, I wore a St Ann’s vest to show our appreciation for Tina’s care.

“My sister’s a nurse so I know it’s not an easy job. People might think a hospice is all doom and gloom but our family didn’t get that sense at all.

“Tina’s husband David, her younger sister Lydia and Mia and myself visited every day and were amazed. Tina herself said we ought to do something as a thank you to St Ann’s if we got chance.”

Kevin’s sponsors included pupils and parents at St Bede’s College where he teaches. He boxes at Bridgewater Amateur Boxing Club and played semi-professional football for clubs including Trafford FC, Mossley and Radcliffe Borough.

To sponsor Kevin visit his JustGiving page here.

Neil Bradbury, Keith Seaton, Sean Martin and Eddie Kohler aim to complete the 958-mile journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats in nine days.

Their itinerary includes a visit en route to St Ann’s to raise awareness of their efforts to generate £4,000 in sponsorship of our hospice during our birthday month as we celebrate 50 years of care to the Greater Manchester community.

Preparations for the bike ride have been limited by lockdown restrictions which mean the group have been unable to meet up for some time.

Neil’s 20-mile round trip from home in Cheadle Hulme to work in Manchester has helped his training. He said: “We’re looking forward to getting back together again once rules allowing us to exercise with one friend only are relaxed.

“We’ve also had to stay local, making training more difficult. I’m a little nervous, especially when you begin to wonder whether the sore knee will flare up on day two. We’ll be like a mobile chemists with so many painkillers and tablets between us.”

Neil’s wife Michelle is Head of HR at St Ann’s, so the cyclists realise how much fundraising matters to our charity, as we need to raise £20,000 a day to provide our services to patients and their families free of charge.

Keith said: “The hospice’s fundraising activities have been reduced this year because of the pandemic and every penny counts, so we’d ask supporters to dig deep and even the smallest amount can make a difference.”

Sean, also from Cheadle, said: “We’re self-financing the trip so St Ann’s will receive all sponsorship. We’ll visit St Ann’s on day four and at least can stay in our own beds that night rather than hotels, guest houses and Airbnbs.”

Eddie, from Liverpool, said: “We’ve got long train journeys just to get there and back and will average 117 miles a day on the roads. It’s going to be tough and the highlight will probably be reaching the finish line.”

To sponsor the team of four, visit their JustGiving page.

Lesley Turner has spent a lifetime caring for others and is still as devoted as she continues her mission to help those in need.

She is taking part in the Manchester Virtual Walk in aid of St Ann’s where she has worked as a health care assistant for 16 years. Much of that time in the bank nursing team overlapped with a 37-year career in social services from which she retired three years ago.

Lesley, from Marple, is part of a St Ann’s group tackling the 10km walk between the 14th to the 17th of May, over our 50th birthday weekend. The 10km walk can be done however and whenever participants like and can be completed in one go, or split up.

Lesley’s late parents Win and Vic used to run a shoe shop on Market Street, Marple. Her hardest time was when her mum was a patient at our Heald Green hospice in 2014.

To show your support to Lesley, visit her fundraising page and sponsor her 10km sponsored walk for St Ann’s.

Staff at Broadstone Mill Shopping Outlet within Broadstone Mill in Reddish – once the largest cotton spinning mill in the world – are holding a charity walk linked to the site’s history and heritage.

Claire Vincent, Marketing Manager at Broadstone Mill Shopping Outlet, said: “When it was a working mill the last leg of the cotton’s journey was along the Manchester Ship Canal.

“We’re walking as far as we can in March, with over a million steps walked in the first week of the challenge. We’re then working out how many times we’d have walked up the Ship Canal. The activity has brought staff together, even though most are furloughed.”

Over a century ago the building echoed to the sound of machines. From Monday, April 12, it will hopefully be the noise from ringing tills and chatting customers when the outlet finally reopens after being closed for much of the last year due to Covid-19.

Broadstone Mill Shopping Outlet, the department store with two floors of shopping and places to eat, has chosen our hospice as its charity of the year.

To sponsor Broadstone Mill Shopping Outlet visit their Just Giving page here.

A Bramhall solicitor firm has pledged to support St Ann’s by offering a free Will writing service for people from across Greater Manchester. 

Butcher and Barlow LLP in Bramhall is supporting St Ann’s during our Will Month campaign, for the second year, pledging to raise much-needed funds for our hospice, whilst helping local people to gain peace of mind from getting their affairs in order. 

Matthew Watson, who is based at the firm’s Bramhall branch, along with colleagues Claire Jackson from their Leigh office, and Donna Crossthwaite from the Prestwich office will all be waiving their usual fees for preparing a simple Will or mirror Wills, and instead asking clients to make a donation to St Ann’s. They join a range of other solicitors from the area who have pledged their support for the popular campaign in aid of local patients. 

Rachel McMillan, Chief Executive of our hospice, said: “As a charity, we rely on the kind support of businesses and individuals from our local community and we’re so grateful to the team at Butcher and Barlow LLP for partnering with us for our Will Month again this year. 

“Around a third of our income every year comes thanks to the amazing generosity of people who remember us in their Will – it’s a truly lasting legacy that means we can continue to provide specialist care to local patients and their loved ones. 

“People joining Butcher and Barlow LLP for this initiative don’t need to be previous supporters of St Ann’s, and they don’t need to be leaving a gift in their Will to us either.  If they do decide to do so that would be hugely appreciated, but, hopefully by taking part and writing or updating their Will they will get real peace of mind from getting their affairs in order and ensuring their loved ones know their wishes.” 

The Manchester Midnight Walk will have a virtual twist this year, as we respond creatively to the pandemic restrictions and adapt the event to ensure our biggest fundraiser of the year can continue.  

The city is normally buzzing with excitement each year as more than a thousand participants take to the streets for the sponsored 10km walk in aid of our patients. 

This year’s event was set to be bigger and better than ever before to mark our 50th anniversary on 17th May, but when lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions led to the cancellation of the physical event, we had to think creatively about how supporters can still raise funds 

Rachel McMillan, St Ann’s Chief Executive, said: “It’s really disappointing that we can’t hold the Manchester Midnight Walk in the usual way this year – it’s been running for fourteen years, and walkers have raised a staggering £2million for the hospice in that time.   

“But, the safety of our supporters is the most important thing to us, and our team have come up with a way that people from across the city can still join in and take part in our birthday edition of the walk, just with a virtual twist this year.”  

We’re inviting you to sign up and take on the challenge to walk 10km over the hospice’s 50th birthday weekend from 14th to 17th May. You can choose to walk 10km in one go, or to split it into smaller chunks, and can decide to complete the distance whenever and wherever you wish. 

Rachel added: 

Participants will receive a free fundraising pack and yellow t-shirt to don during their walk, and will also be sent an exclusive medal on completion.