Theme: Fundraising

The 50th anniversary of St Ann’s Hospice brings back lots of happy memories for Dehrne Hancock who even threw herself off Manchester Town Hall for the sake of the charity.

Her head for heights also saw an abseil down the CIS Tower, the Co-op headquarters in the city centre and at one time the tallest building in the country.

Such bravery was all in a day’s work for Dehrne in her role as the hospice’s corporate fundraiser, a post she took up after organising a charity fun weekend at Grove Park sports ground in Cheadle Hulme.

That was on behalf of Manchester Rugby Club and Cheadle Hulme Cricket Club, both of which her husband David captained.

The occasion, in May 1995, marked the 25th birthday of the clubs’ home. The couple have been proud members for 50 years.

That event was also used to launch a Silver Jubilee Appeal for St Ann’s to count down to its same anniversary at the Heald Green site the following year.

Dehrne did so well as organiser that William Stewart, Appeals Director at the hospice at the time, persuaded her to work for the charity soon after.

The Bramhall grandmother recalled: “We had a fabulous weekend and although it took a lot of planning, it wasn’t as terrifying as jumping off the town hall at my first fundraising event!

“The fun weekend was a joint effort and cemented a great friendship with the hospice, raising £7,000 for the two organisations.

“I remember we had over 250 members at a quiz in a marquee on the cricket pitch on the Friday night before an Antiques road show the next morning.

“World renowned jazz musician Humphrey Lyttelton entertained a 450-strong audience at a black tie dinner the same night, while the next day we staged a celebrity cricket match between soap stars and United and City players.

“We used the marquee for a Sunday soul night and ended the Bank Holiday weekend with a family fun day.” said Dehrne.

Highlights while working at St Ann’s included helping organise the BBC’s Songs of Praise, the first televised event from the newly-opened Bridgewater Hall in 1996.

Dehrne’s duties involved driving TV news presenter Martyn Lewis there in her Mini. She said: “We pulled up at the traffic lights near the hospice and a passer-by was amazed when they spotted who was in the car. Martyn was hosting the programme.”

Another abiding memory was helping organise ‘2,000 in 2000,’ a millennium choir concert at the Manchester Arena featuring 2,000 male voices.

Dehrne still supports the hospice and her team from Bramhall Golf Club have entered the next St Ann’s Golf Day at Dunham Forest Golf and Country Club.

Schoolboy Adam Collis copied his hero Captain Tom by pushing himself to the limit to help others.

Adam spent his half-term holiday cycling 50 laps of his local park raising funds for St Ann’s where his late grandmother was a patient.

The challenge in East Avenue Park, near his home in Heald Green, was a test of endurance for 11-year-old Adam, who has cerebral palsy and was once told he would never cycle.

Mum Sue said: “From day one medical experts said he’d never be able to ride a bike. We even went for an assessment two weeks ago and they couldn’t believe he could balance himself enough to ride without stabilisers.

“He’s quite determined and a couple of years ago said he wanted to ride a bike like everyone else. At first, I had to push him, then he took off and did it himself.

“He loved Captain Sir Tom Moore who was much like Adam in his determination to do something. He thinks that if someone that old could walk 100 lengths of his garden, then he can do this.”

Adam, who attends Etchells Primary School, has raised £1,000 for St Ann’s so far where Rita Gallagher, 73, spent six weeks before she died of cancer in August.

Sue said: “The care was amazing and it wasn’t just about my mum, but all of us. It was so personal and nurses worried about us, as well as mum. Unfortunately, Adam couldn’t visit his nana on the ward because of Covid so they met in the hospice gardens.

“Last year the focus was all on NHS and we got a leaflet from St Ann’s saying it was the 50th birthday, so Adam said he’d like to do something for nana and raise funds to help others.”

Adam said:

Our Chief Executive, Rachel McMillan, said:

To sponsor Adam please visit his Go Fund Me page or alternatively you can make a donation to St Ann’s below.

We’re appealing to businesses from across Greater Manchester to take on a very special challenge this February, to help us celebrate our milestone 50 year anniversary. 

Our new challenge, ‘Move, Eat, Play, Give’ gives businesses a flexible, bespoke way to show their support of the charity, whilst staying safe and adhering to Government guidance. 

Rachel McMillan, Chief Executive of the hospice, said: “We’re one of the only hospices in the UK to reach this 50th anniversary milestone, and we’ve only managed to do so thanks to the amazing half a century of support from communities across Greater Manchester and beyond.   

“That includes local businesses, and we’d love any who have supported us over the last 50 years, or who would like to be involved as we celebrate through 2021 to get in touch. 

“Our corporate challenge will take place throughout February, and it’s been developed so that teams from businesses in the area can choose activities which best suit them, whilst also keeping within government guidelines and remaining safe. 

“We know that 2020 was a difficult year for corporates, as it was for the hospice too, but we’re hoping that this will be a great opportunity for us all to come together and do something positive and uplifting for local patients and their families – it will hopefully be a helpful way to boost team morale too, especially if teams are working more remotely due to lockdown.” 

The ‘Move, Eat, Play, Give’ challenge offers businesses the ability to choose activities from any of the four categories, tailoring activity to suit their own circumstances, needs and resources. Whether that’s a physical challenge to walk three miles a day as part of daily lockdown exercise (the equivalent of the distance that a hospice nurse walks in an average shift on the wards), holding a virtual quiz night, or collecting clothes to donate to one of the hospice shops when they reopen, there are a huge variety of ways that teams can choose to join in. 

Businesses will have the whole month of February to take part, and the business or employee that raises the most money will also receive a prize. 

Rachel McMillan added: “As a charity, we need to fundraise £20,000 a day to keep our services running and we’d be hugely grateful to any business who chooses to take part in this challenge for St Ann’s.   

“We hope that by enabling organisations to choose their own itinerary and ways to support us, it will mean that they can take advantage of the flexibility, whilst also helping us to continue caring for people in their local community. Huge thanks in advance to anyone considering getting involved.” 

Award-winning artist, Lindi Kirwin, 61, is supporting St Ann’s by donating a percentage of the sale of a bespoke Florence Nightingale painting to the charity.  

The A1 sized creation, which is on sale for £995.00, honours the Year of the Nurse 2020. Lindi has pledged £500 of the proceeds of the sale to St Ann’s, choosing to support our hospice in memory of her father, who was a volunteer driver at the Heald Green site.  

Lindi said: “2020 marks 200 years since Florence Nightingale’s birth and I wanted to give to St Ann’s during the pandemic. I believe it’s right to put something back in life.” 

The Cheshire-based artist is selling her painting online with free UK postage and packing, with potential customers able to view the painting via appointment, outside of lockdown restrictions.  

Lindi is a notable artist, who offers commercial, private, and public art, as well as commission work and workshops.  

Click the link to view or buy the Florence Nightingale portrait now here: https://www.lindi-kirwin.co.uk/portraiture/770398_florence-nightingale.html 

Clean-up volunteers in Wythenshawe have teamed up with St Ann’s Hospice to mark our 50th birthday next year.

Wythenshawe Waste Warriors were hoping to fill 2,020 bags of litter in 2020 and surpassed that figure with the total number collected by volunteers across the area reaching 3,000 so far.

They now hope each bag filled in 2021 will be sponsored for £1, with donations funding patient care at St Ann’s, which has been adopted as its chosen charity.

Father-of-two John-Paul Coe founded the Warriors three years ago when a visit to a local park with son Bobby left him upset by the litter and mess.

He decided to tidy up parks, woodlands, and streets and now has a network of volunteers helping make Wythenshawe a better place to live.

John-Paul, from Newall Green, said: “The Warriors would not have grown without the support of our volunteer partners to whom we’re extremely grateful.

“For us, St Ann’s, as our chosen charity, is also a perfect partnership. We’re linking two great causes and hopefully, the community will take up the mantle and fundraise for a charity caring for people from Wythenshawe and the wider Greater Manchester area.

“We’d like schools, businesses, scout groups, and anyone else to sponsor litter picks for £1 a bag. Our message next year is ‘Deep Clean Wythenshawe,’ improve the environment and help a great local cause.”

To help promote their campaign, the Warriors have appointed Eamonn O’Neal DL, High Sheriff of Greater Manchester and Director of Strategic Initiatives at St Ann’s Hospice, as patron.

To sponsor a litter collection visit justgiving.com/fundraising/john-paul-coe2.