With the return of its annual Starlight Walk, Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice hopes to attract a glittering crowd of fundraisers.
The nighttime walk, which sets out from the hospice at 9pm on September 30, is an evening of entertainment and remembrance as participants take on the walking challenge to raise money for the hospice’s care work.
A fitness instructor livens things up with warm-up exercises before the groups head off on either the 10k or the 5k walk.
The route ends up back at the hospice, where walkers are invited to write a dedication on a star in the ‘memory garden’.
For some, the walk is a way of giving back in memory of loved ones who have benefited from care at the Moggerhanger hospice.
Nicky Masih is heading up a team of walkers for the second year in a row in memory of her late sister-in-law Debbie Hall, who passed away in the hospice’s care in 2016.
Nicky said: “She received pain management at St John’s and passed away in their loving care.
“I wanted to do something in her memory and to raise as much money as possible to support St John’s.”
Nicky’s team – named ‘Debbie’s Dumplings’ after an old family nickname – helped reach the £48,000 goal raised in the 2016 walk.
Bedecked in glowstick jewelry, the walkers illuminated their path on the nighttime walk.
Nick said: “My aim was to raise enough to buy three syringe drivers as that’s how many Deb had required to manage her pain in the last few days.
“It is vital that we, as a community, have the hospice in our hour of need.”
Sue Ryder hospices provide care for those facing life-changing diagnoses, and needs £42.5 million a year to keep its services running nationwide.
This year, Nicky encourages as many people as possible to join in the Starlight Walk for St John’s and help the Moggerhanger hospice towards its new goal of £50,000.
This amount is equivalent to the cost of 500 days of nursing care, or 100 days of patient care in one of their beds.
Registration for the walk costs £20 per adult, £10 per child and £55 per family. For more details, see sueryder.org and search for St John’s Hospice.
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