Local family raises over £3,000 in hair raising head shave for Hospice

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On Saturday 25th July, six brave men gathered at the Working Men’s Club in Weston-super-Mare to have their heads shaved in order to raise money for Weston Hospicecare.

The event was organised by Maisie Martin, Dan Tivenan and Joe Tivenan who decided to support the charity after their father, James, had been diagnosed with cancer in January 2014 and is currently being supported on the In-patient Unit at the Hospice.

Maisie Martin, daughter of James, helped to organise the event and was there on the night to show her support of the big head shave. Speaking about its success, she said:

“Dad is unbelievably proud of us and what we have achieved. The event went perfectly and we had lots of support from our friends and family in making it run smoothly – even Dad helped us by giving us business contacts for the Silent Auction!

It was amazing to see how everyone was willing to help make the event a success. We had such a good turn out and to have everyone come together for such a good cause was brilliant.

Even the boys are embracing their change of hair style and are quite enjoying the cool breeze on their heads in this nice weather!”

The head shave event also featured a raffle, bake sale and a Silent Auction with prizes including a television on offer and other goodies donated from the Grand Pier, Wookey Hole Caves and @Bristol.

The total amount raised from the event so far comes to over £4,000 which far surpasses their original target of £750.

Weston Hospicecare relies on fundraising events like these to help the charity continue to provide its vital services to people faced with a life-limiting illness in the local community. Thank you to the Tivenan family and their friends for hosting such a hair-raising and successful event!

Skydivers raise sky high sponsorship for Hospice

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Every year, lots of people choose to support Weston Hospicecare by undertaking their own fundraising event. From cake sales and summer fetes to hair shaves and 10k’s…everyone has their own way of showing their support to the Hospice.

Some, however, are inclined to take part in the  more adrenalin fuelled fundraising events and that’s exactly what lead a group of nine people to sign up to a 15,000ft skydive for Weston Hospicecare in June.

The skydive was part of a Guinness World Record attempt by Skydive UK who wanted to win back the record of having ‘the most tandem skydives in 24 hours’. The Guinness World Record is currently held by another organisation who had 403 jumpers complete the numerous skydives in 11 hours 37 minutes and 53 seconds.

Unfortunately, Skydive UK’s attempt on Saturday 20th June was thwarted by bad British weather and Hospice supporters had to reschedule their jump date. Whilst this meant that the Guinness World Record attempt was now out of their grasp, all nine skydivers were still eagerly anticipating the experience.

James Mortimer of Weston-super-Mare was able to complete his skydive on Saturday 11th July. He said:

“Skydiving was an excellent experience and something I would love to do again in the near future. I thought I would suffer nerves during the day whilst I was waiting but I found the whole experience enjoyable. There were only a couple of times when I felt apprehensive but that was whilst I was waiting and the safety brief put us all to ease. I would recommend skydiving to anyone who has not tried it, even if they are scared! It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

James raised a fantastic £550 including Gift Aid for Weston Hospicecare. This brings the total of the entire group to £4249.18 which could pay for two days of our Community Nursing Service.

You can skydive throughout the year for Weston Hospicecare or take on a variety of other daring challenges for our cause. Call Claire Dibben (Event Fundraiser) on or email for more information.

Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle challenge raises over £1,000 for Weston Hospicecare

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The thought of cycling 962 miles across the length of Great Britain isn’t the most appealing of ventures for most people. However, for Hospice supporter and Axbridge resident Mike Day the challenge of taking on a cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats was an exciting prospect.

Speaking about his gruelling cycle ride and the 57,500 foot climbs which awaited him, Mike (who works for Knightstone Housing Association) said: “It’s a challenge that I have wanted to do for several years and in my 59th year I finally decided to give it a go”.

On Thursday 11th June, Mike set off on his journey with two friends and kept an updated blog about the highs and lows (both geographically and mentally!) of his journey. Day one saw Mike face lots of very tough hill climbs and headwinds whilst day eight of his adventure in the Scottish Highlands tested Mike with temperatures of 8 degrees!

Despite cycling through some very testing environments Mike said:

“I had an amazing journey though this wonderful country of ours so rich in history, culture and varied landscapes.”

By taking on this fantastic challenge, Mike has raised over £1,000 for Weston Hospicecare and is “bowled over with people’s generosity”. This money could pay for three patients to be cared for by our team of specialist Nurses in our In-patient Unit for 24 hours.

If you would like to find out more about the various cycle challenges which you can take on for Weston Hospicecare both in the UK and abroad, please call Claire Dibben (Event Fundraiser) on or email .