News story Archives - Page 42 of 79

Braving the Shave for St Ann’s

August 13, 2020 | 7:44am

St Ann’s supporter, Susan Wilkinson, made the daring decision to shave her head for the hospice after her Auntie Sue who is from Swinton, was cared for by our outstanding team.

On Tuesday 7th July Susan headed to the salon to shave all her hair off, which has raised over £1,200, beating her target of £500.

Susan decided she wanted to support St Ann’s after seeing how our staff treated her Auntie, who is in the final stage of COPD, during her stay. Whilst there, Susan found comfort in our Being You Centre and having a creative outlet that she could share with her Auntie. She would attend two times a week and saw a development in her skills with the help of our Being You staff and even made a silk scarf at the Centre.

Our Being You Centre is a special place for patients and carers that is a warm and friendly place full of people who are committed to giving you the best care and support possible, whatever that means for you. We provide a range of services, including relaxation therapy, counselling, creative therapy and spiritual support, among many more services. You can read more about our Being You Centre here.

When Susan’s Auntie was first offered respite at St Ann’s her family was hesitant and uncertain, but within a day she looked like a different person, she said:

The first day I went to visit her I was in awe, she was sat eating a prawn salad with a glass of wine, waiting for her ice cream dessert, she looked like a different person.

Originally Susan had decided to do a sponsored slim for our hospice, but due to the current climate, she had to make alternative plans, setting up a brave the shave fundraiser with a pledge to do so once the hairdressers opened up.

I was motivated to do this after seeing my Aunties attitude grow more positively during her stay. I was shocked that it wasn’t government funded, and I really wanted to raise funds for the staff that are always on hand to care and support patients and families.

Susan’s Auntie spent three months at St Ann’s before being able to return to her home, Susan went on to say:

From the time my Auntie was in the hospice she became more and more like her old self every day and the transformation in her health was amazing. I firmly believe that my precious Auntie would not be with us now if this charity had not supported her and her family.

To sponsor Susan, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/brave-shaver

St Ann’s remember Neil Cliffe

July 20, 2020 | 10:44am

Neil Cliffe was an inspiration to many hundreds of people throughout his life. Following his cancer diagnosis, Neil was determined to create somewhere for patients living with the disease to find respite and comfort. He set about raising money by galvanising the community into action and spent all his spare time running marathons and inspiring others to join him.

Neil managed to galvanise the whole region with his ‘Buy a Brick Appeal’, decades before the word crowdfunding was ever invented. £1 million was raised and in May 1992, the Duchess of Gloucester formally opened the building we now know as The Neil Cliffe Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital – a great tribute to the amazing work he inspired. St Ann’s adopted the Neil Cliffe Centre almost twenty years ago, and the values of the hospice and of Neil and his wife Joan blended perfectly.

In 1985, Neil was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List; he received the Celebrity Club of Great Britain Award around the same time. He was selected to be a bearer of The Queen’s Jubilee Baton at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games. David Cameron, when he was Prime Minister, recognised Neil with the prestigious ‘Point of Light Award’ in recognition of Neil’s dedication and fundraising efforts. Neil said at the time “myself and my wife and family together with all our supporters will be thrilled and delighted to receive the Prime Minister’s Point of Light award”. Last year, Neil was the recipient of a Pride of Manchester Award and was nominated in the National Awards for Brave Britons. St Ann’s has been proud to have nominated Neil for a number of these awards and we were always delighted to join with him in celebrating his achievements. We were constantly moved by his humility.

Neil was an honorary Vice President of St Ann’s Hospice and a wonderful ambassador and supporter. He was loved by everyone at St Ann’s and we’re saddened by the news of his death.

I’ve known Neil since the very early days of his famous appeal. He was a kind, thoughtful man with a huge heart, full of love for those who needed support. I was delighted when I became CEO at the hospice and we were able to renew our friendship.

Eamonn O’Neal, Chief Executive at St Ann’s and High Sheriff of Greater Manchester

Eamonn said: “The Neil Cliffe Centre has been part of St Ann’s for almost twenty years and has welcomed thousands of patients and families over the years and Neil always took a personal interest in those patients as well as the staff and volunteers. As well as being a gentleman, he was a really gentle man, whose soothing voice and reassuring words endeared him to everyone he met. We rarely saw him without his wife, Joan at his side and his great friend, Fechin McCormick was a pillar of strength to Neil throughout.

“On behalf of the trustees, colleagues, patients and volunteers at St Ann’s, I should like to send condolences to Joan and the family. Neil made St Ann’s a richer, warmer place and we’re going to miss him terribly.”

Mr Motivator Workouts for St Ann’s

July 15, 2020 | 10:36am

Fitness guru Mr Motivator will be hitting our screens this July, with some exclusive workouts in aid of St Ann’s Hospice – including a special accessible session which gives participants the opportunity to exercise completely from their armchair.

The lycra-clad legend has created two special half-hour online workout sessions – Body Blitz, an all-round general exercise class for anyone of any age and ability, and The Chair Session, which is accessible to all and allows the working of the whole body from the comfort of a chair.

This year has been really difficult, especially for charities like St Ann’s, but what’s been amazing to see is the number of people embracing exercise time – whatever that might mean for them. People have been taking their daily walk, or joining classes online, and are really seeing the benefit of getting themselves moving, not just on their body, but just as importantly on their mind as well.

I approached St Ann’s Hospice as I have helped them out in the past running warm up sessions for the thousands of people who take part in their Manchester Midnight Walk. As the event couldn’t take place this year, I knew that they’d be missing out on vital funds so what better way to raise money than to create a few exclusive workouts that are good for you, and also raise money for the hospice patients as well?

Mr Motivator

The Body Blitz workout will be a general session that anyone can join in with, whether they are used to exercise or new to it, and all people need to join in is a couple of cans or bottles and some water. It’ll be fun and have some great music, and most importantly great energy to get people motivated for the weekend ahead.

We also wanted to create an alternative accessible workout that people can do from their chair as well, as some of the patients at the hospice also want to join in with those. The Chair Session will do just that, so anyone of any ability can take part in the exercise class with a difference, with safe, effective movements that start at the top of the body and work through all of the muscles in turn. I’d love as many people as possible to join us – say yeah!

Mr Motivator

Tickets for the classes are just £5 each, and the sessions will be carried out via Zoom on 25th and 26th July at 10am in the morning.

Money raised will help to raise vital funds that enables our teams to continue caring for patients and their loved ones, following what has been a really challenging time for our hospice.

Eamonn O’Neal, Chief Executive of St Ann’s, said:

I’m so incredibly proud of the way the hospice teams have coped with being on the front line throughout this crisis, enabling patients and their loved ones to continue receiving access to the vital palliative and end of life care hospices provide. As a charity, we need to fundraise £20,000 a day to keep our services going, and at the moment we’re caring for more people than ever as we reach out into communities and support NHS colleagues too.

We can only do that thanks to our amazing supporters and we can’t thank Mr Motivator enough for his kind offer to raise money and provide fun events for people to take part in with these workouts. We’re all looking to taking part in the exercises – lycra is not mandatory thankfully

Eamonn O’Neal, Chief Executive of St Ann’s

The workouts have been sponsored by JP & Brimelow estate agency, an organisation who have supported the hospice over many years, raising thousands of pounds for local patients and their families.

Eddie Ellis and the team at JP & Brimelow are so generous in their support of St Ann’s and their kindness and energy in everything they do to help us out year on year is incredible. We can’t thank them enough for being part of this initiative as our sponsor. It’s really appreciated.

Eamonn O’Neal, Chief Executive of St Ann’s

To sign up to join one, or both, of the exclusive workouts, please visit www.sah.org.uk/events/mr-motivator-workouts or call the team on 0161 498 3631.

Sign-up to the Mr Motivator Live Workouts

Sign-up Today

St Ann’s Summer Fair Takeover

July 15, 2020 | 10:21am

Lockdown brought with it a range of innovative and virtual activities and we’re taking it one step further by taking our popular fundraising Summer Fair entirely online.

The Summer Fair, which has been a highlight of St Ann’s fundraising calendar for decades, sees hundreds of people visiting hospice sites to take part in activities, watch entertainment, join in with raffles and tombolas, and grab a bargain or two.

But, this year we have had to think a bit differently about how to safely deliver a Summer Fair experience in the current circumstances, and have come up with an online Takeover on their Facebook channel which will include a wide range of activities for people to take part in.

Eamonn O’Neal, Chief Executive of St Ann’s, explained:

From the start of the year, we regularly get messages from people asking what date our Summer Fairs will be held, and they really are tremendously popular. This year we knew we had to think differently about how to deliver them safely, and we hope people will enjoy what we have planned.

There’ll be entertainers performing on our Facebook page, along with raffles, virtual events and activities, and traditional fair stalls will also be taken online – for example you can watch a video and guess how many sweets are in the jar to win a prize, or enjoy seeing Directors from the hospice pelted with wet sponges by our (usually) friendly mascot Stan.

Eamonn O’Neal , Chief Executive of St Ann’s

We’re hoping lots of people will drop in on the day to take part on our Facebook page and show their support by joining in the raffles or activities, or making a donation. It’s been a really difficult time for the hospice, as it has for everyone, and our nurses and doctors have been working incredibly hard on the front line, providing care for more patients than they have ever before. It’s vital we can continue raising funds for that care to continue, and we’re so thankful to everyone who has supported us in recent months. We can’t thank you enough, and we hope you enjoy all the fun of our fair.

Eamonn O’Neal

The Summer Fair Takeover will be held on the St Ann’s Hospice Facebook page from 10am to 3pm on Sunday 19th July.

Raffle prizes will include a signed Anthony Martial Manchester United T-Shirt, Hotel Chocolat Velvetier worth more than £100, a Body Shop hamper, fully stocked picnic basket, sweet hampers, plus many more prizes.

Local people will also be hosting stalls and holding raffles of their own in their local communities, to help increase the amount raised from the fair. The hospice fundraising team can help with items to raffle so anyone interested in running activities as part of the virtual event should contact the team on events@sah.org.uk or call 0161 498 3631.

The hospice’s Heald Green charity shop will also be open on the Sunday from 11am until 3pm with a large range of items on sale as part of the Summer Fair Takeover.

For more information, please visit www.sah.org.uk/events or call 0161 498 3631.

Sign-up to our Summer Fair

Enjoy a day of fun activities from the comfort of your home!

Sign-up Today

Supporter Sam takes on a Marathon for St Ann’s

June 24, 2020 | 12:34pm

St Ann’s supporter, Sam MacLeod will kick running a marathon round a rugby pitch into touch in a bid to raise funds for our hospice. It took him just under four hours to cover 88 laps of a field, raising £847 for St Ann’s Hospice in the process.

Even before Sam set off, he already knew virtually every blade of grass on the pitch near his Cheadle Hulme home. The 17-year-old had trained there every Saturday, gradually increasing his distance to 35k before his marathon run in memory of Joanne Hemsley.

Joanne died at St Ann’s in May 2019 and was a friend of his mum Gail, who was there to cheer him over the finish line, along with dad Mike and elder brothers Chris and Jack.

I was going to do it for the NHS but a lot of people have donated to them. St Ann’s is local and I drive past the hospice all the time to my nana and grandad who live round the corner. St Ann’s has had no fundraising events because of Covid-19, so I thought I’d raise money for the hospice. The marathon was tough mentally and the heat made it difficult, even though I started at 7am.

Sam MacLeod

Sam is looking forward to when he can join other runners in his second marathon, either in London or Manchester.

To sponsor Sam, please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sam-macleod1

St Ann’s Shop Update

June 9, 2020 | 8:40am

Hello, my name is Amanda Brooks and I’m the Head of the Trading Company at St Ann’s. In my role, I am responsible for the overall management of the shops, including St Ann’s online shops as well as the distribution centres, collections, house clearance services and the lottery.

In the last few months, we’ve had to temporarily close our shops and stop our trading services, in line with government guidelines. It has been a difficult time as our shops generate a lot of income that helps to support the hospice and the hard work carried out by staff who offer care and support to patients and their loved ones.

As lockdown restrictions lift, we’re now able to open our doors once more and from Monday 15th June we’ll be re-opening a select number of shops, including our online stores on eBay and Amazon.

We’ve taken great consideration and followed government guidelines to ensure our volunteers and customers can shop and be served safely. To do this we have had to make some changes in the way our shops will operate.

For now, only the Edgeley, Stockport, Heald Green, Altrincham and Romiley shops will be open, from 11am – 4pm from Monday to Saturday, except for the Romiley shop which will be open Tuesday to Saturday. The reduced shopping times means our team of volunteers, who will be briefed before taking the role on, can do a deep clean of the shops before and after every day they are open. Like most shops, we will be limiting the number of people entering and putting in safety measures, including floor markers to maintain two-metre distancing.

We’ve also had to adapt our donation policy and will now only be taking donations on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This way goods can be handled safely and isolated for 72 hours before they are placed within the shops. Sadly, customers won’t be able to try any items on, but we will be accepting returns, provided the item still has the labels attached and a receipt is presented.

Although our popular bridal shop in Cheadle will still remain closed, we are still accepting one hour or 1.5-hour appointments for the coming months, with a plan to re-open in August, provided the government says it is safe to do so. The number of bookings will be limited per day so our team can do a deep clean before and after each appointment. If you do want to book an appointment then email tradingadmin@sah.org.uk. We recommend doing this as soon as possible as our bridal shop is popular and bookings fill up quickly.

Our collection and house clearance service will also be re-opening, however, we will need you to book an appointment to schedule these and we’ll be asking a number of questions before we can collect items or clear a property. To carry out a safe clearance we’re asking that you leave a key in a safe space and notify our drivers of the location of the key. We ask that you aren’t present during these times so that our drivers can safely enter the property and collect the items. Once clearance is complete the key will be returned to the safe location and you will be notified. For more information or to book an appointment please email tradingadmin@sah.org.uk.

In the coming weeks, myself and my team will continue to review government guidelines to ensure our shops are safe for our volunteers and customers.

More than ever we need your support and every item purchased from us allows us to provide care for loved ones in our local community.

For more information on donations, shopping and house clearances, please email tradingadmin@sah.org.uk.

Having the first shops open means we are one step closer in re-establishing our business meaning we can continue to provide the vital funds needed in supporting the great care the hospice provides.

Amanda Brooks, Head of the Trading Company

Can you help?

We urgently need volunteers to help run St Ann’s Hospice shops. We’ll be following government guidelines and providing each volunteer with training to ensure every team member remains safe.

Each till will be shielded and floor markers will help maintain two-metre distancing and in the bigger shops, we will be putting in one-way systems.

Our shops generate a large amount of money and by sparing a few hours each week, you can help provide a service to the local community whilst also raising much-needed funds for St Ann’s.

Volunteers do need to be over 16 and we ask that those who are interested to fill out an application beforehand. Click the link below if you’d like to volunteer for St Ann’s, you’ll also find more information on what your role will be and how you can help St Ann’s.

Do you want to volunteer for St Ann’s

Our shops are in urgent need of volunteers, can you spare a few hours a week to help?

Volunteer Today

27 Walkers take on the Manchester Virtual Walk

June 9, 2020 | 8:29am

St Ann’s supporters, Jodie, Amanda and Sarah, are returning for the third time to take part in the newly adapted Manchester Midnight Walk, alongside 24 of their closest friends and family members in memory of their mother-in-law who was cared for by St Ann’s.

Like many events, the famous walk, which has been taking place in Manchester for the last 13 years has gone virtual with a new challenge of walking 5k in a day or 10k in a week, throughout June.

The adaptation on the event meant it was open to everyone and the original walkers inspired both friends and family to take on the challenge in their own groups, ensuring they all remain safe.

The care and compassion shown to not only my mother-in-law, but for us as a family was second to none and nothing was ever too much trouble. St Ann’s allowed us to hold two small family parties which left us with amazing memories.

We felt very strongly in that we wanted to give something back to say thank you, so we put a team in for the Midnight Walk, there was six of us in total, and we managed to raise over £1,000.

Jodie Clayton

The following year, Jodie and her team entered with a further nine people in aid of St Ann’s and memory of her mother-in-law, raising almost £2,000. And the support didn’t stop there, in 2019, Jodie, Amanda and Sarah along with their partners Ric, Mike and Andy, held a ball for St Ann’s and raised over £14,000 for the hospice.

This year, the event is very flexible and has no age restriction, which has allowed Jodie to involve her mother-in-law’s grandchildren, that totals at eight people aged between 5 and 15.

Although it won’t be the same, we are so glad we can still take part. We’re doubtful that we will be able to do our walks together, but the team will be doing it on the same day with their families.

We are very impressed with how St Ann’s have adapted to the current situation and allowed this event to still take place and raise much-needed funds.

Jodie Clayton

The group have set up a target of raising £500 for St Ann’s throughout June and will be taking part in numerous activities to help raise funds of our hospices.

Sign up to the Manchester Virtual Walk

Take part in our yearly event and help raise vital funds for St Ann’s.

Climbing New Heights for St Ann’s

May 22, 2020 | 9:10am

Resourceful Via Culpan, 24 from Sale, came up with the unusual idea to raise funds for St Ann’s Hospice during lockdown, as a way to thank the charity for the care given to her grandfather.

Her challenge will see her use the staircase of her one-bedroom flat to walk 9 miles – the equivalent of the Llanberis Path to the Snowdon summit – in just one day to raise money for the charity.

My grandad was cared for by St Ann’s at the end of his life thirteen years ago, and our family have never forgotten the amazing support we were all given, even at such a young age. I have always felt a connection to the hospice since then, and was lucky enough to successfully apply for a job in the Fundraising team there in March this year.

Via Culpan, Events Assistant

I wasn’t expecting a global pandemic to take place after a week or two of being in my new role, but it’s actually been an amazing experience in many ways in that everyone in the team has pulled together and has had to work in lots of ways they wouldn’t normally. Despite being an event organiser, I’ve also been manning reception, which has really helped me get to know some of the patients and their families too. It’s incredible to have that chance, and seeing a smile on their faces despite it being such a difficult time makes me feel so proud to work for St Ann’s.

Via Culpan, Events Assistant

At St Ann’s we offer care for patients with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses from our three hospice sites in Heald Green, Little Hulton, and The Neil Cliffe Centre in Wythenshawe Hospital, as well as via a range of community and outreach services. Around a third of our funding comes from the NHS, with the rest raised from donations and other kind support from the local community.

It’s been great to see so many people fundraising for the hospice, even when there’s so much else going on in the world, and it really got me thinking…if an 80 year old can manage a 10km and raise money for us, I can do something too, no matter how much of a couch potato I am!

Via Culpan, Events Assistant

I’ve worked out that if I’m able to walk up and down my staircase 1,333 times, it will be equal to walking 20,000 steps, which is the same as walking to the top of Snowdon and back down again. I’ve never done anything like this before, and will be completing the challenge on Facebook Live on Saturday 23 May, which is the day that marks 13 years since my grandad’s passing at St Ann’s. I’m hoping to raise a minimum of £1,300 for my incredible workplace in my grandad’s memory, and welcome all donations or shares of my social media posts to help me achieve my goal.

Via Culpan, Events Assistant

To sponsor Via, please visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/vc-snowdon

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