Carols for Day Hospice Patients

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Patients at Weston Hospicecare’s Day Hospice enjoyed an afternoon of carols and Christmas cheer today when members of Uphill Primary School’s choir came to entertain them.

Thirteen pupils from Years 5 and 6 sang a mixture of traditional carols and more modern Christmas songs including a stunning rendition of the song “Hallelujah”, to the delight of patients , staff and volunteers alike.

Staff Nurse Wendy Roger-Jones said “The children sang beautifully and it was a pleasure to have them join us to start the Day Hospice Christmas festivities in style. After they had sung the children spent time chatting to all the patients which was lovely and very much appreciated.”  

Janet Brill, a patient, commented: “It was just wonderful – they sang so beautifully it brought tears to my eyes”.

The festivities will continue for Day Hospice patients with visits this week and next with visits from school choirs from Worle Village Primary School and Oldmixon Primary School,  special Christmas lunches and hilarious pantomimes performed by staff and volunteers.

Five locals prepare to run the London Marathon 2016 and raise £10,000 for Weston Hospicecare!

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Whilst most of us are looking forward to relaxing over the festive season five local supporters of Weston Hospicecare will be training hard.  Each has successfully secured one of the Hospice’s  gold bond places for the Virgin London marathon and with a minimum sponsorship target of £2,000 each, the group are fundraising hard too!

Jamie Peacock, Claire Trego, Andrew Strickland, Dean Bridges and Brendan Sheridan each have their own personal reasons for wanting to support the Hospice but each shares a desire to raise funds for the local charity.

Jamie from Weston-super-Mare is the deputy head teacher at Westhaven Special School in Uphill and plans to involve his students in helping with his fundraising. “I work just across the road from the Hospice and I feel that it’s very important to give back to the local community whenever possible. It is very exciting for the children at school to have a member of staff running the London marathon for a charity which is known to them, which they are able to identify with and which they can help fundraise for”.  Jamie is a keen and experienced runner with three marathons and several half marathons already to his credit and is looking forward to the challenge of running in this most iconic event. “With thousands of people lining the streets and screaming your name it is a unique event and I am thrilled to be part of it for Weston Hospicecare”

Kelsey Dehaney from Weston Hospicecare said” We are excited to have such a committed group running for us and we will be working hard to support them with their fundraising.  In addition, if anyone has their ‘own place’ in the London Marathon and would like to run in aid of Weston Hospicecare we would love to hear from them. So please make the most of your ballot place by running for a local charity.”

For more information call Kelsey on or email

Thousands of Santas and Rudolphs set to race on Weston-super-Mare’s beach

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Around 2,400 people dressed in festive fancy dress are due to hit the beach in Weston-super-Mare this Sunday 6 December, 2015 for the annual Christmas Cracker event, organised by Weston Athletic Club.

The 28th annual Christmas Cracker 10k has some 2,250 adult entrants to the race and a further 140 runners entering the mini cracker 2k event, new this year for children aged seven to 15 years old.

The Mini Cracker event gets under way at 10am on the beach by the Grand Pier, which is also the start of the Cracker 10k race at 11am.

Malcolm Gammon, race director of Weston Athletic Club, said: “The Cracker really is a fantastic event in our club’s race calendar and this year’s event is set to be another great spectacle, especially with the Mini Cracker that we’ve introduced.

“Many of the runners have been building up to this event, including a group of 60 individuals who joined our beginners group, the ‘Rudolphs in Training’ in September. Many of them will be running their first ever race on Sunday, dressed as yes, you guessed it, Rudolphs!

“I would like to urge as many people as possible to come out and support all of the tinsel-clad and fun runners this weekend by cheering them on during their race, all in support of Weston Hospicecare. The public support for everyone taking part is always wonderful and hugely appreciated.”

This year, Weston Athletic Club will be presenting a cheque for £5,000 raised from race funds to Weston Hospicecare before the main prize giving at 12.45pm on race day, Sunday 6 December, at Weston College, Knightstone Campus. A further cheque for at least £2,000 is being handed over by the Rudolphs in Training members at the front of The Grand Pier at 10.30am.

Kelsey Dehaney, event fundraiser at Weston Hospicecare said: “On behalf of everyone at Weston Hospicecare, I would like to thank Weston Athletic Club for the wonderful support, yet again, we have been overwhelmed by the pledges made to our charity. There is still time to donate so please, if anyone is inspired by all of the children and adults running in this year’s Cracker 2k and 10k races, you can pledge your support at: www.justgiving.com/weston/donate

“As well as gratefully receiving the cheques on the day, I’ll certainly look forward to cheering everyone on during the races!”

Spectators will be able to see the runners as they take on two laps of the main part of the beach at Weston-super-Mare during the race, with the start and finish on the beach by The Grand Pier. A requirement of all entrants of the Christmas Cracker is that at least one piece of tinsel must be worn as a minimum, although as in previous years, the crowds can expect Santas, Rudolphs, snowmen, penguins and many more interesting costumes hurtling along the seafront on Sunday.

For more information about the Cracker races, including a map for spectators and how to pledge sponsorship, visit www.westonac.co.uk/christmascracker

Christmas Jumper Day is coming!

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On Wednesday 9th December, wear a Christmas jumper and donate £1 to Weston’s local Hospice.

Weston Hospicecare challenges you to wear your silliest Christmas jumper with pride on the 9th – to work, to college, or round the supermarket – to raise money for a great cause this Christmas.

Put on your beautiful light-up Santa jumper, or the one your gran hand-knitted you, and then text WHC01 £1 to 70070 to instantly donate £1 to the Hospice. Or you can make your donation at any Weston Hospicecare charity shop.

“Christmas Jumper Day is going to be a lot of fun,” says Hospice Fundraiser Rachel Mansfield, “and it’s a great, simple way to support the Hospice this Christmas. This can be a difficult time of year for the families we care for, and every £1 donation will be appreciated, along with the laughs we’ll all get from seeing people’s Christmas jumpers!

“We would love lots of local businesses and workplaces to get involved, so do let your boss know about it. And when you take part, please send us your photos! Email us, show them off on Facebook, or tweet them using #WHCxmasjumper.”

To find out more about Christmas Jumper Day or fundraising for the Hospice, please contact Rachel on or .

Everything’s £1 at the Aller Parade Hospice shop

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Weston Hospicecare has turned its Aller Parade charity shop in Weston-super-Mare into a £1 shop, offering locals a last chance to buy its donated items for an amazing bargain price.

Linda Kelly, the charity’s Head of Retail, says: “The response has been fantastic – despite everything being £1 or less, our income is significantly higher, meaning we can donate more funds back to the Hospice.

“We decided to convert the Aller Parade shop into a £1 shop following the success of our other £1 shops in the centre of Weston and Clevedon. It’s a way to make our fundraising more efficient. We get great items donated that don’t always sell in the stores they’re donated to. Previously, if they didn’t sell after a few weeks, we were faced with the very difficult decision to recycle or dispose of them, which is the last thing we want to do when people have generously chosen to donate their items to raise money for the Hospice.

“Our £1 shops now act as a last stop for these items instead, allowing people to buy them at highly discounted prices, saving them from recycling, raising funds, and giving local people a great bargain!”

The shop has had a facelift, with new signage and interiors. Since the shop opened as a £1 store, sales have more than doubled, which is good news for the local Hospice.

This is the latest in a line of changes for the charity’s shops which aim to improve efficiency and maximise the profit from the community’s donations.

Weston Hospicecare provides free, expert end-of-life care to 1 in 100 local people, and raises 80% of its running costs through its charity shops, fundraising activities and the generosity of local people and businesses.

Find out more about the Hospice’s shops at westonhospicecaregroup.org.uk/shops or call

The Barn beauty salon rides for Weston Hospicecare

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On Sunday 4th October, the multi-award-winning beauty salon, The Barn, organized a charity bike ride to raise money for Weston Hospicecare.

 “We always like to support charity,” says Kelly Hooper, Creator and Director of The Barn, “but with our busy schedules we couldn’t find an event to suit us, so we organized our own.”

The Barn set up a sponsor bucket in the salon and asked people for a £1 pledge. “Our aim was to get as many people as possible to give us a £1 each,” says Kelly.

Cycling the 25 miles from Cheddar Reservoir to Yatton and back along the Strawberry line, were 15 women and children comprising members of Team Barn, clients and family.

The youngest participant was 9-year-old Charlotte Redman who cheerily lead the team for much of the way. Together with her mum Alex – who works as an acupuncturist and Bowen practitioner at The Barn – she raised £65. Imogen Lawrence, The Barn’s 14-year-old Saturday girl donated £100 in memory of her beloved granddad.

“There are few people who have not been touched by cancer or a terminal illness,” says Kelly. “In Team Barn, we have had family members and friends with terminal illnesses  – and we have also had the honour of treating and comforting terminally-ill clients – some of whom have stayed at Weston Hospicecare. As a local business, we like to support local charity and Weston Hospicecare is very close to all of our hearts.”

Sarah’s Dry September For Weston Hospicecare

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Regardless of the weather, for Sarah Twigg from Weston-super-Mare it’s been a dry September.  Sarah took on the challenge of abstaining from alcohol for the whole month to raise money for her local Hospice and in early October, having successfully achieved this she was able to present cheques totalling £11,000.

Sarah was motivated to help after a close friend passed away at the Hospice in Uphill.   She said “The care my friend received was just amazing – she was shown so much kindness, compassion and love by the wonderful nurses on the In-patient Unit that it made me determined to do something to help.  Many of our friends agreed to sponsor me and some of my husband David’s close business colleagues made an unbelievably significant contribution.  I have been overwhelmed by the support I received.  The total raised is much more than I could ever have hoped for and I feel great after my dry September.”

Sally Davis from the Hospice said “Sarah’s personal achievement and fundraising success are fantastic. Eleven thousand pounds will pay for our team of eight Community Palliative Care Nurse Specialists for a whole week caring for almost 350 patients and their families in their own homes.  The difference this will make to those people is invaluable and Sarah can be very proud of what she has achieved”

Walking group’s tough challenge raises thousands for Hospice

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A walking group for people with health conditions has raised an impressive £1,800 for Weston Hospicecare. The Carlton Ramblers were sponsored to complete the Mendip Challenge, a walk of up to 30 miles along the West Mendip Way.

There are around 12 members of the Carlton Ramblers, who all have mental or physical health conidtions. The walking group was the brainchild of staff at the Carlton Centre in Weston-super-Mare, who thought it would make a good health activity for the people who used the Centre’s various partner services.

Several years on, the group has taken on a life of its own, and the Carlton Ramblers now organise their own meetings every Tuesday to support one another while taking a six to eight-mile hike around the local area.

For the last six years, the Ramblers have taken on the Mendip Challenge to raise money for Weston Hospicecare. Nick, one of the group’s members, explained that the Challenge provides them with a great motivation and focus:

“The walking group has really helped us to improve and sustain our health and wellbeing.  As people who know first-hand how important it is to be supported, we wanted to be able to give something back to others.

“Taking part in the Mendip Challenge every year is a great personal challenge for all of us, and the satisfaction of being able to give something back through fundraising for the Hospice is really important to us.”

The Mendip Challenge is an annual sponsored event for people who would like to have fun outdoors, challenge themselves and raise money for Weston Hospicecare. There are 10, 20 and 30 mile routes along the West Mendip Way in the Somerset hills – or a five mile fancy dress route along the beach! You can walk or run, on your own, with a team or with your family and the dog, and there’s food, drink and music to enjoy at the finish line.

Over six years of doing the Mendip Challenge, the Carlton Ramblers have raised over £5,000 for the Hospice. And most impressively, most of the group now complete the 10 or 20 mile challenge distances – one member has even completed 30 miles. This huge achievement has made a big difference to the Ramblers’ health, as well as to Weston Hospicecare and all the local people who rely on their services.

If you’d be interested in joining the Carlton Ramblers, they would love to hear from you. Please get in touch via the Carlton Centre. They would also recommend the Mendip Challenge to other walking groups. To find out about taking part in the 2016 Mendip Challenge, please visit www.westonhospicecare.org.uk/challenge-hospice or call the Hospice on .

Model train enthusiasts put on an impressive show

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Each year, model train enthusiasts put on an impressive show in Weston-super-Mare, showing off their engines and layouts in aid of charity.

This year was the first time that Keith and Joyce Price and the team have run an extra show in September, and it was a big hit with almost 800 visitors and £1,800 raised for the Hospice.

Over the past six years, the model train show has raised a total of around £27,000 for the Hospice! We are very grateful to organisers Keith and Joyce and to Weston’s train fans of all ages!

On their website, Keith says:

 “A BIG thank you to our sponsor, to the enthusiasts who bought in their layouts from far and wide, the traders who backed the show – without all these, there would not be a show! The army of volunteers giving their time and effort free of charge. The advertisers who in turn paid for the show guide, and not forgetting the staff at the campus who looked after us so well. Thank you all! We’ll be doing it all over again on Sunday the 10th of January, 2016, see you then!”

Have a look at some photos from the event here: http://www.westonsupermaretrainshow.com/wsm-september-2015.html