Sweater weather didn’t stop our wonderful volunteers from supporting us this festive season…

Christmas is often one of the busiest times of the year, and we are thankful for our wonderful volunteers who raised incredible amounts for us in many creative ways, including Festive Jumper Days, Christmas fairs, and meaningful moments spent with friends and family – all coming together for a great cause.

December wasn’t just a time of celebration for our volunteers; it was also a time to come together to make a difference, and also remember that it might be someone’s last Christmas.

 

Top 3 highlights: Dashing through December

First up… It isn’t Christmas without bright lights

  • Can we just take a minute to admire Keith Brown’s Christmas Baubles show? He is currently at £9,853.55! We are incredibly thankful for his hard work and compassion for our local community.

Let’s hear what he has to say:

Every year, I try to bring the community together to share the magic of Christmas and help make memories for them all at that festive time. My Christmas light display in Brackley Way has grown since 2011, and I’m told it’s become the talk of the town at Christmas. All the effort, time, and money that goes into putting on this display, is soon forgotten when family, friends and the community turn up to watch something I have created for them. I raise money through donations for St. Michael’s Hospice, a charity for patients and their families needing end-of-life and palliative care. My effort is nothing compared to the amazing job all the staff do at the Hospice, they are all unsung heroes in my eyes. I am very proud to be a supporter of such a wonderful place; we all know that they are there if we need them.

 

Keith Brown

 

Meet more of our community champions…

  • On 19 and 20 December, Tesco hosted a Chineham collection and our wonderful volunteers covered two days collecting from the public, raising £2,455.27

It has been a real honour to support and volunteer for St. Michael’s Hospice over the past years, from Xmas wrapping at Basingstoke (dressing up as a box), Light Up a Life serving the teas, coffee & mulled wine, supporting at the Moonlight Walk, and clearing up after an event at Oakley. Beyond volunteering, I have been pleased to donate raffle prizes when needed to yourselves and other events. Alongside myself and two of my managers, we gifted chocolates for your amazing staff and games for your family room that was collected through Tesco and Basingstoke Furniture Projects Toy Appeal. 

Jane Stubbs

Warning: Little reindeer caught running on tracks across four primary schools

  • Throughout December, four Schools took part in our Reindeer Run for schools. We truly appreciate all the support from Starlings Pre-School, Silchester Church of England Primary School, Alphabet City Day Nursery and Bramley C of E Primary School, collectively raising £1,853.00 (with Gift Aid)

The children have taken part in many fundraising events for Starlings Pre-school over the years, but this fundraiser was very close to our hearts. St. Michael’s Hospice cared for Kate, our dear friend and colleague. Raising money for St. Michaels Hospice to help patients and their family and friends at their most vulnerable time, has been an honour. The children had a lot of fun running around in their reindeer antlers and we were delighted that some of the children’s family members joined us for this fun pre-Christmas event.

There are staff here at Starlings who worked for many years alongside Kate, and this fundraiser brought back fond memories of the time we would work, socialise, and laugh with her. She will forever be a part of Starlings Preschool, and we look forward to raising more funds for St. Michaels Hospice and supporting them in the future.

 

Lesley Rust

Community Fundraising

  • Tash, from our fundraising team, met with the Mayor of Alton!  We are proud to share that we are their chosen charity. This was part of an annual Christmas Tree Festival in one of the local churches, St Lawrence. As you will see, the tree is made out of butterflies decorated by children and the young at heart!

Annette following the Alton Reindeer Run in which the Mayor dressed up and took part.

  • On 1 December, David Green completed the Movember Challenge, raising £174

 

Meet Santa, prancing along the streets of London in aid of our hospice!
  •  On 4 December, Colin Bradford took part in a Santa Run in London, raising a brilliant £1,143


Carols were jingling all the way!

  • On 13 December, Basingstoke Choral Society had Carols in the Malls, with our volunteers collecting funds, raising £264
  • On 15 December, Overton Christmas Carol also hosted a concert with our volunteers again who helped us collect funds, raising a total of £760.80

 

  • On 16 December, the Hatch Warren Runners Quiz at Brew Dog raised £833.17 – what a fun way to celebrate the holidays while supporting a meaningful cause!

  • On 18 December, Prakash Korde and Nitin Patil came into the hospice to present a cheque for £2,500 from their dinner and dance held on 15 November. Shout-out to the team of four who organised the event: Lakshmi Kulkarni, Prakash Korde, Nitin Patil and a friend

  • On 22 December, the Post Box Sports Bar Christmas Family Evening raised £800

  • On 31 December, New Year’s Eve was exciting for our supporters… Teresa Ryder along with friends and family did a Toy Story pub crawl dressed in array of colours, raising £800

Corporate Support

  • This season, we thank Blatchfords for hosting their Christmas fair which generously raised over £1,000!

  • On 5 December, Vectair’s Christmas raffle (1st event) raised £400

  • On 11 December, Penningtons Solicitors brought in delicious treats for the hospice snack trolley

  • It’s the season of giving, and we are incredibly thankful for the volunteers who lent us a helping hand through supporting us at our donation centre, including Juniper Research

  • Not to mention, every Friday from Black Friday (28 November) to 19 December, Newbury Building Society held a “Wrap It Forward” campaign. Other corporate volunteers also lent a hand to wrap presents and collect donations, raising £319.30

 

And speaking of sweater weather…

  • Tadley Medical Centre Christmas Jumper Day raised £336
  • On 10 December, RHB Partnership had a Christmas Jumper Day and Raffle too with all smiles! (see photo below)

  • On 11 December, TD Synnex hosted their Christmas Jumper Day

  • On 11 December, Exertis’ Christmas Jumper Day raised £94

  • On 19 December, TPT also had a Christmas Jumper Day to support us

  • On 16 December, Diligenta hosted a Christmas Raffle

  • On 17 December, BizSpace hosted a Christmas fair raising a brilliant £194.43

Once more, we thank you for your time, enthusiasm, and support this festive season. We simple couldn’t do it without you.

Every fundraiser, every volunteer, every story, powered by you.

Join us and make a lasting impact – Donate or get involved here. https://www.stmichaelshospice.org.uk/get-involved/giving/donate-now/