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Ladies Circle raise £5k for hospice

1 August 2019
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A generous group of Midland fundraisers have raised over £5,821 for a local charity that’s close to their hearts.

Members of the 10 clubs which make up the ‘Heart of England Area 4 Ladies Circle’ – which includes the Bromsgrove group – have raised funds for Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice through a number of different fundraising events over the past year.

The kind-hearted group of 18 to 45-year-olds have taken part in bucket collections, collected pennies, organised quiz nights, hosted shopping nights and more to raise the much-needed funds for the Hospice, which provides vital care to local people living with life-limiting illness.

The compassionate group of ladies decided to support Birmingham St Mary’s following the care and support it provided to Mark Haynes in 2006, who was the husband of the group’s 2018/19 area chair, Vicky Hadley.

 

She said: “Mark was just 29-years-old when he was told that he had less than a year to live. It was heart-breaking news and to this day, I’m still thankful that Birmingham St Mary’s was there for us every step of the way.

“The nurses from the Hospice were like a breath of fresh air. We had a nurse called Mary who would visit Mark at home. She just seemed to get what we were going through and was always there whenever we needed to talk or had questions. She encouraged Mark to create a bucket list of the things he wanted to do and so he ended up taking an amazing trip to New York, watching Aston Villa from the box, and marrying me.

“Due to the wonderful support that Mark and I received from the Hospice, I wanted to use my year as area chair to really shout about the Hospice and encourage the ladies to fundraise for such a wonderful cause. The groups have been fantastic in raising money and awareness for the Hospice and we’ve had a lot of fun putting on events and getting out-and-about in and around the Midlands. Thank you to all the members of the group for their dedication and hard work, and thank you to everyone who has supported us and donated over the past year.”

Heart of England Area 4 Ladies Circle have clubs in Tamworth, Shirley, Moseley, Kenilworth, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Stourbridge, Lichfield, Knowle and Dorridge and Evesham. It is an organisation aimed at women who are looking to make new friends, try new activities and fundraise for local charities.

The funds raised for the Hospice has come at a particularly special time, as the charity is celebrating 40 years of care across Birmingham and Sandwell. When the Hospice first opened in 1979, it could care for 25 people on any given day. Four decades later and the Hospice is supporting over 400 people every day, providing care in people’s homes, in the community, at its Day Hospice facility and at the Hospice’s Inpatient Unit.

Charlotte Dowling, community fundraising manager at the Hospice, added: “A huge well done to the Ladies Circle for raising such an impressive amount of money for Birmingham St Mary’s. I am so thankful for the support they have given to the Hospice over the past year – not only in helping to raise funds but also by spreading the word about vital hospice care across their communities.

“It costs £9m to run the Hospice every year – over 60% of which must come from voluntary donations – so the work of  Ladies Circle really does make a difference to the people we care for, enabling the Hospice to continue to support people when they need it most.”

Ladies Circle is currently looking for new members to join its group. To find out more, visit here.