Friends almost quintuple fundraising target for hospice
Five men from Shrewsbury have almost quintupled their original fundraising target for a charity which cared for their friends.
On Tuesday they presented Severn Hospice with a cheque for £9,348.55 – almost five times their £2,000 goal – during Hospice Care Week which celebrates the hard work of the sector.
Adam Harris, Ryan Tisdale, Michael Farrall, Duncan Farrall and Ziggy Hughes tackled the national Three Peaks Challenge in memory of Abby Francis and Darren Lloyd.
The hospice, which needs to raise £2 for every £3 it spends on care, provided specialist support to them during their illness last year.
Abby’s mother Jane Hughes, who along with Darren’s mum Debbie Oakley joined the cheque presentation, said: “It’s amazing how much has been raised and for such a lovely cause. The hospice has lost out on so much recently through cancelled activities so we’re just so proud and pleased to help in some way.”
Debbie said about the group’s fundraising triumph: “They’ve done an amazing job; there’s no words to describe it really; they’re fantastic.”
The group completed the one-day challenge last month in under 21 hours, supported by Adam Price who drove to the three peaks in Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scarfell Pike) and Wales (Snowdon).
Michael Farrell said: “Severn Hospice cared for Abby and Darren in their final stages so we decided that we’d try and raise awareness for them while raising money for what is such an amazing charity.
“Shrewsbury’s an amazing place and when something bad happens everyone seems to come together and we can’t be more thankful for the way it’s gone and the support we’ve received throughout.”
After initially setting out to raise £2,000, the total on the group’s JustGiving page stood at £9,298.55 on Wednesday – and they topped this with a £50 cash donation when handing over the cheque.
Their generous support has been welcomed by the hospice which has faced a financial blow as a result of lockdown and the ongoing pandemic.
Even now as its fundraising starts to build back up, the charity says it has a long way to go before it recovers from the £100,000 it lost each week since March when it was forced to close its shops and see its own and supporters’ events cancelled.
Hannah Gamston, Severn Hospice area fundraiser, said: “The lads have raised a fantastic amount for the families who need us, and we thank them for thinking of us; and it’s amazing that Abby and Darren’s mums could join them for the cheque presentation.
“Their support will make a real difference, particularly now as we haven’t been able to hold our own community events since March because of the pandemic – and it may be sometime before we can.
“An amazing £778 has been given in gift aid which means some of the lads’ supporters raised a little extra for us and it didn’t cost them more than their original donation – so every contribution helps and it’s one of the simplest and most effective ways of supporting us.”
