Almost 11,000 children from 58 schools and nurseries in Surrey and Hampshire took part in Phyllis Tuckwell’s Christmas Runs in December, raising over £82,000 for local hospice care.
Caption: Children at Hale Nursery and Primary School enjoyed their Christmas Run.
Phyllis Tuckwell cares for patients and families in West Surrey and North-East Hampshire, and its Christmas Runs were supported by schools and nurseries throughout this area, from Camberley to Haslemere, and from Crondall to Cranleigh.
These festive runs take place every year in the lead-up to Christmas and any local school or nursery can register to take part. Pupils are given either reindeer antlers or an elf hat to wear, or can bring in their own Christmassy headwear, and are sponsored by family and friends to run laps of their playground or playing field. All of the money raised goes directly to help fund the vital care that Phyllis Tuckwell provides for local patients and families living with an advanced or terminal illness, such as cancer.
“A few weeks before their run we visit the school assembly to tell the children about our care and how their fundraising will help,” said Helena Burke, community fundraiser at Phyllis Tuckwell. “At one of the assemblies, it started snowing and it was wonderful to see the children’s faces as they watched the snowflakes through the windows! We’d like to thank all of the schools and nurseries that took part and everyone who sponsored the children. Your support really does make such a difference.”
Clifton Ingram Solicitors in Farnham were the main sponsor for the Christmas Runs this year. The company kindly ran a colouring competition for children alongside the Christmas Run, offering one lucky child the opportunity to win a Nintendo Switch! Eleanor Stanley, corporate fundraiser at Phyllis Tuckwell, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to Clifton Ingram for their continued support with our Christmas Runs and for offering such a generous prize for one lucky child at a participating school.”
£82,000 is enough to cover the cost of Phyllis Tuckwell’s Living Well service for over a month. Supporting around 520 patients a year, this service offers physical, emotional and practical care to help patients manage living everyday life with their illness, as independently as possible for as long as they can. It includes individual and group sessions, nursing care, therapies and carer support.
All our services are free, but this is only possible due to the generosity of our amazing community. The Government/NHS only provide 25% of our costs, so we need to raise over £25,000 every day to provide our vital services.
Please donate what you can to help keep hospice care available to all those in our community who need us.
