Christmas Ladies Lunch Raises £2,600 for Hospice
Dec 7, 2010
Women from across Birmingham tucked into a festive fundraising feast – bringing in £2,600 for the city’s only independent adult hospice.
Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice Christmas Ladies Lunch on Friday, December 3, was attended by 87 women and took place at City Café in Brindley Place.
This year the event was graced by special guest speaker Llewela Bailey, the former Central Tonight presenter whose late husband Martin Jenkins was cared for by Birmingham St Mary’s.
In addition to the £2,600 raised, an anonymous donor handed £1,000 to Llewela towards her 2011 London Marathon target of £20,000, again in aid of the hospice.
Hospice Head of Fundraising Caroline Taylor said the lunch had been a resounding success. “I would like to thank all those who turned out on a bitterly cold Friday to support Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice. The money raised will help care for people with life-limiting illnesses across Birmingham and Sandwell.
“We were particularly delighted with the money given to Llewela’s marathon challenge and would like to invite individuals and companies to help us meet the £20,000 target.”
Since its launch in 1979, Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice has cared for tens of thousands of people with life-limiting illnesses, such as cancer, motor neurone disease and MS.
With around 52 percent of the Hospice’s budget reliant on public goodwill, community fundraising is crucial to ensuring its highly specialised services can continue to be offered to the people of Birmingham and Sandwell.
In addition to a 25-bed Inpatient Unit, Birmingham St Mary’s boasts a 20-place Day Hospice and provides community care to people who wish to stay in their own homes.
The Hospice also supports relatives with bereavement preparation, physiotherapy tuition and counselling in addition to many other services.
Annual running costs stand at £6.3 million, with around £1 million being raised in the Hospice’s shops and £2.7 million via fundraising. The remainder comes from the NHS.
Birmingham St Mary’s nurses, often referred to by patients and relatives as ‘angels’, are renowned for going that extra mile to ensure people with terminal illnesses enjoy the best possible quality of life.
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