HospiceCare North Northumberland is £44,000 richer thanks to festive fundraising campaign

HospiceCare North Northumberland, which supports people with life-limiting illnesses and their families, has recently taken part in the Big Give Christmas campaign.

The charity managed to raise a monumental sum – enough to pay for more than 1,700 hours of hospice at home care.

The campaign was managed by The BIG Gift Trust, which secures match-funding from trusts and organisations. This meant the £22,265 worth of donations collected by the charity during the campaign week –November 29 until December 6 – was doubled to make £44,530.

Alongside direct donations, local groups and businesses chipped in by hosting fundraising events during the campaign week. They included Santa visits, coffee mornings, raffles, choral and musical performances, village club events and quiz nights.

HospiceCare’s campaign was supported by a short film featuring Andrew Fletcher, whose dad was helped by the charity at the end of his life.

Emma Arthur, HospiceCare’s interim fundraising manager, said: “Whilst it’s been a hectic few weeks on the lead up to our Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022, it was a truly magical experience to be able to generate so much money in such a short space of time.

"We have been humbled by the response from our local communities, business and pledgers who made donations which enabled us to exceed our target – it’s another wonderful example of a local charity working in partnership with the local community – a partnership that we never take for granted.

“I would also like to extend a special thanks to the following businesses for pledging their support to our campaign: GBM Motors, Pattinson Estate Agents, The Cookie Jar, SJS Haulage, Storey Edmondson Builders, Albany Contract Furniture, JAG ART 82, Invicta1 Driving School, Keith’s Coaches, Neptune’s, Serenity Farne Island Boat Tour and The Reed Foundation. A special thank you also goes to Northumberland Estates for sponsoring our powerful Fletcher family film which was produced by Chris Jackson.”

HospiceCare North Northumberland is almost entirely funded by donations. This year the charity needs to raise more than £850,000 to continue to meet the growing demand for their services which include hospice at home, bereavement support and dementia support.