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.

HOWZAT?! RUFC and Wickersley OVCC play charity cricket match to raise money for Rotherham Hospice

Charity Cricket Match

Last Friday saw John Breckin’s annual charity cricket match between Rotherham United Football Club and Nigel Hatton’s Wickersley Old Village Cricket Club taking place. The event was, as always, free to attend, with people donating whatever they could in aid of Rotherham Hospice.

 After much crossing of fingers that the great British summer would cooperate, the weather just about held out and John Breckin’s men were ready to face Wickersley OVCC in what has affectionately become known as the Hospice Cup.

 2022 has been an amazing year for Rotherham United,Wickersley OVCC winning the Rotherham Hospice cup winning the Papa John Trophy and promotion to the EFL Championship, however it wasn’t to be this evening, as the Millers lost the Hospice Cup for the first time. Congratulations to Wickersley OVCC! Still, there were no hard feelings as both teams contributed massively to raising funds for Rotherham Hospice, a cause close to John and Nigel’s hearts.

Through donations, sponsorship, raffle tickets and a charity auction after the game, a brilliant total of £8,857.09 has been raised. 

Special thanks to our corporate sponsors Eric Twigg Foods (who donated all the Pukka Pies sold on the night), Burrows Motors, Dick Habbin, W Restaurant, Broadsword, ELR, Richard Roebuck, PA Entertainments, and Hume & Co. Having the support of our local business community is vital to ensuring Rotherham Hospice can keep supporting families for years to come. If you would like to find out more about how your business could support Rotherham Hospice, please check out our Corporate Partners page here.

"It's been an unbelievable night!...Everybody has turned out and they've been so generous. Especially in these hard times, I can't thank people enough."

John Breckin, Rotherham United FC Honorary Life President and Rotherham Hospice supporter Tweet

 As a charity, Rotherham Hospice needs to raise £3 million each year to continue providing vital end-of-life care and support to our local community. Everyone at the Hospice would like to thank John Breckin, Nigel Hatton, and all those who generously donated their time, effort and money to make this event a great success. If you would like to contribute, you can donate to Rotherham Hospice here.

The last word from John:

"At the end of the day, it's for the Hospice. Hopefully you don't need it, but if you do need it, it's there for you. It belongs to us people of Rotherham and we must keep it going."

John Breckin, Rotherham United FC Honorary Life President and Rotherham Hospice supporter Tweet

Millers ‘Give the Hospice a Hand’ and raise over £10K!

Red Glove Day cheque presentation

Rotherham Hospice would like to thank every single person who supported us as part of the ‘Give the Hospice a Hand’ initiative, raising an amazing £10,060.31 at the most recent count.

 

Firstly, we need to thank John Breckin, former Rotherham United player, Honorary Life President of the club and all-round Millers legend, who has been a staunch supporter of the Hospice for many years, following the death of his wife Denise in 2006. John came up with the idea of a ‘red glove day’ to contribute towards the £3 million total which the Hospice relies on in charity donations each year.

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Speaking on Monday having moments ago learned of a superb final total, John Breckin said:

I’m totally overwhelmed. Every single time that I have asked for the Rotherham people to get behind my fundraising efforts for the angels at the Hospice, they have responded, but done it so generously.

The Hospice also needs to thank everyone associated with Rotherham United FC and those who covered the cost of the gloves in advance, meaning all your donations on the day went straight to the Hospice. It’s a long list, but they all did their bit, including Chairman Tony Stewart, Les Payne, Sam Todd, Chris Barnes (CRB), Ian Maden (EMG), Gareth Hickling (KCM), Jim Haigh (Eagle Platforms), Steve Burrows (Burrows Motor Company), Robert Sommerville (House Hairdressers), Andrew Watson (Good Measures Pharmacy), Darrell Johnson (Maltby Main FC), Jamie Noble and Colan Leung (RUCST), Adam Nicholson and Phil Cooper (PA Entertainment), Phoebe Shore and all cheerleaders (Trailblazer Allstars), Brian Smith , Howard Webb, Bill Dabell, and Kevin Johnson, who ran the signed shirt raffle!

rotherham hospice volunteersA massive thank you to all the volunteers who helped in the run up and on the day – we could not have done this without your enthusiastic efforts!

And last but by no means least, all the amazing Rotherham United FC supporters who dug deep into their pockets on the day, and whose generosity is what keeps the Hospice going!

The last word goes to John:

I want to personally thank every single volunteer, who gave up their time to stand with buckets for the Hospice and equally, every single person who gave even a penny to help this charity which helps so many people in the town and beyond.

The Hospice were there for me, as they have been many others, and it is great to have the feeling of us being there for them because it needs such huge financial resource to ensure that they can continue caring for our loved ones. From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of everyone here, thank you.

John Breckin

If you would still like to help us, you can donate here!

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.