School friends hot foot it for charity!

Fire Walk to raise money for Rotherham Hospice

In November 2022 two friends, who met some 30 years ago in comprehensive school, are set to walk over hot coals to raise money for Rotherham Hospice to say thank you.

Charlotte Dimond and Elenor Gordon, both 46, are taking on the Fire Walk to say thank you for the compassion and care that Rotherham Hospice staff gave to Charlotte’s mum Lesley in December 2021 when she was taken into the Hospice for end of life care.

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Charlotte said: “You don’t really know lucky we are to have such an amazing place on our doorstep until you need it. The staff were all so wonderful and kind with mum and with all the family and we’ve been raising money throughout the year to say thank you.

“My brother Bri has done a half marathon and then he joined one of my other school friends Christina Mower and they took part in a sky dive parachute jump. My sister and brother-in-law have both done a tough mudder event so it was my turn really.

“I always said I’d walk over hot coals for mum and now here I am about to do so to say thank you for the care she received. I’m so pleased to be doing this with my friend Elenor at my side. I think my normal shuffling speed will be dialled up a notch or two!”

 

Sponsor Charlotte and Elenor for being brave here.

Please put Fire Walk next to your name on the donation. 

 

As a charity, Rotherham Hospice relies on our amazing community of supporters like Charlotte and Elenor to raise the £3 million it takes each year to keep providing vital end-of-life care to our Rotherham families. 

 

If you have been inspired to have a go yourself, you can sign up for the Fire Walk here.

 

The event costs £25 per person to take part and we are encouraging firewalkers to raise a minimum of £250.

Participants will undergo an hour of training with experts from Firewalk UK. When the fire has burned to red-hot embers reaching 1,200 degrees, the surface will be raked level ready for fundraisers to walk over the coals.

Firewalkers must be aged 18 or over to take part. Spectators are welcome to come and cheer on fire walkers – the more the merrier – but please leave your furry friends at home. There will be food and family-friendly entertainment too.

Sunflower Garden Party Cancelled Following HRH Queen Elizabeth’s Death

Queen Elizabeth II

Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last week, everyone at Rotherham Hospice wishes to express our sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this time, and anyone affected by the death of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

 

As a Hospice, we often see and experience grief, and understand that it comes in many forms. The Queen’s death may have triggered stronger emotions in you than expected. You might question how we can grieve so strongly for somebody we didn’t personally know. The Queen has been a constant presence throughout our lives for 70 years, and so it is natural to find it unnerving and even upsetting now she is no longer with us.

 

You may find yourself more deeply affected. Witnessing grief on a national scale may remind you of your own personal grief for a loved one. It is okay to grieve both. Your personal grief is important too. However you are feeling, it can be helpful to try and express your feelings. Don’t worry what others may think, your experience of grief is unique to you.

 

Rotherham Hospice has cancelled the Sunflower Garden Party due to be held in the Hospice gardens on 17th September. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, however felt the event should not go ahead at this time as a mark of respect following Her Majesty’s death.

 

​All Hospice services will continue as normal. For any queries, please call 01709 308 900.

Thank you for all your support at the Rotherham Show!

volunteer at Rotherham Show

Thank you to everyone who came by the Rotherham Hospice stand at this year’s Rotherham Show.

It was wonderful to meet so many supporters face to face, and to hear how Rotherham Hospice has touched your lives.

The Rotherham Show was your first chance to grab a Rotherham Hospice 2023 calendar, featuring beautiful local landmarks shot by our calendar photo competition winners. They did an amazing job showcasing what Rotherham has to offer. 

We also launched this year’s Christmas cards, and had an amazing array of bric-a-brac at bargain prices. 

If you missed out this time, limited stock of calendars, Christmas cards and diaries will be available in our charity shops and to buy online soon. Sign up to the Hospice email newsletter to find out when!

An absolutely enormous thank you goes out to our brilliant volunteers Batool, Fatima and Sam who helped man the Rotherham Hospice stand over the weekend. 

Our volunteers are a big part of what makes the Hospice such a special place. There are lots of different volunteering opportunities available to suit different skills and lifestyles. Find out more here.

We’d also like to thank our partners at Local Hospice Lottery who work tirelessly to support the Hospice through our lottery game. Playing Local Hospice Lottery is an easy way to support the Hospice, and each week somebody wins £2000 cash! It’s a win-win. Find out more and how to join Local Hospice Lottery here.

All proceeds from the Rotherham Show will go towards funding Rotherham Hospice’s vital end-of-life services, such as community nursing, the 14 bed In-Patient Unit and bereavement counselling. 

As a charity, Rotherham Hospice gets just 50% of its funding from the government, and needs to raise £3 million each year to keep supporting our Rotherham families. Thank you for your support!

Millers Legends come together for Rotherham Hospice

Miller Legends night cheque presentation

Rotherham Hospice is more than grateful for the members of Rotherham’s community that dedicate their time to fundraise for us. One such member is Kev Johnson, a long-time supporter of Rotherham Hospice, Rotherham United fan and pillar of the Rotherham community.  

This month, Kev organised a ‘Millers Legends Night’ at Rotherham Rugby Club, where fans of Rotherham United could join a Q&A session with some of their favourite ex-players, enjoy live music from Damian Luke and the Sweet Beast, and have a meal of pie and peas kindly provided by the Rugby Club themselves. 

A big thank you to John Stiles for hosting the Q&A, interviewing the likes of Millers Legends John Breckin (pictured with Kev Johnson), Guy Branston, Mark Todd, Ronnie Moore and Ben Pringle.

The night raised an amazing total of £6000 through ticket sales, raffle tickets and an auction, which will help fund patient care and bereavement support for our Rotherham families. The event wouldn’t have been possible without its incredible sponsors – Eric Twigg Foods, Cascade Drainage and Rainworth Skoda – and the generosity of those that donated the raffle prizes and auction items. 

All the staff & volunteers at Rotherham Hospice would like to thank Kev Johnson for organising such a brilliant event, dedicating his time to putting it all together and making sure it ran as smoothly as it did.

 Kev has raised money for Rotherham Hospice before by raffling off a signed RUFC shirt and donating excess funds from Mark Smith’s signed Shearer shirt to the Hospice. Altogether he has raised almost £10,000 for the Hospice this year alone! 

millers legend night

When asked why he chooses to support Rotherham Hospice, Kev says, “it’s a charity that’s at the heart of our community.”

And he’s not stopping! Kev has even bigger plans for fundraising events to come, watch this space!

Has Kev inspired you to be a Hospice Hero? You could run a race, do a bake sale, take on a daredevil challenge (check out our Events Diary to see what’s on) or fundraise via your business. There are lots of ways to get involved, find out more on our fundraising page.

Rotherham United give the Hospice a hand!

Give the Hospice a Hand
We are delighted to share that Rotherham United will be ‘Giving the Hospice a Hand’ as they pledge their full support to the red glove initiative, which will see vital funds raised for Rotherham Hospice at the Sky Bet League One fixture with Shrewsbury Town on Saturday 19th March.

 

It promises to be a sight like no other ever seen at a match at AESSEAL New York Stadium, when thousands of fans don red gloves following the idea from Honorary Life President of Rotherham United and long-term supporter of the Hospice, John Breckin.

John Breckin Red Glove Day for Rotherham Hospice

 

Volunteers from the Rotherham Hospice and the Rotherham United Community Sports Trust will be positioned around AESSEAL New York Stadium armed with red gloves to distribute and buckets for donations to the charity.

 

The gloves are free for any supporter to collect on their way into the ground, but we are asking that fans make any kind of donation up to any amount they’d like to give as they take a pair.

Speaking ahead of the game, John Breckin said:

“Rotherham Hospice has touched so many people’s lives in this town and I like to help out with their fundraising whenever I can.”

“I had this idea, envisaging thousands of fans waving and clapping all wearing red gloves and thought we could have some fun on the day whilst raising money for a great cause, not least because the Hospice needs around £6m a year to keep it functioning.”

The Hospice would also like to thank the various club sponsors and businesses who have backed this event, including KCM Waste Management, EMG Marketing, CRB Doors, Eagle Platforms, House Hairdressers, Wickersley PA Entertainments, Good Measure Pharmacy, Maltby Main FC and big Millers fan Bill Dabell, which will mean everything fans contribute will go to the Hospice.

“We are a community club and I’ve found that the people of Rotherham are so generous and we certainly look after our own,” John Breckin continued.

Breck My Life in Football in aid of Rotherham Hospice

“The Hospice has had a tough time with its fundraising during the past two years of the pandemic and this is a chance to give them a hand – hence the red glove idea,” added John who is donating profits from his book (Breck: My Life in Football) to the Hospice, which he hopes will reach £10,000 eventually.

 

The fundraising has already started for the Rotherham Hospice and if you’re feeling generous you can contribute now on our Give the Hospice a Hand Just Giving page.
Or you can text to donate:
Text REDGLOVE followed by your donation amount to 70085 to give that amount.
Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message.

 

Thank you for your support.