Locals raise more than £4,600 for St Wilfrid’s Hospice
A local family, supported by leading West Sussex funeral directors Ballard and Shortall and East Sussex funeral directors Haine & Son, has raised £4,696 for St Wilfrid’s Hospice near Eastbourne.
Widow Anita Stone, from Hailsham, was so overwhelmed by the care her husband Geoff received while he was at the hospice that she, together with members of her family, set about raising money for the charity to ensure its good work could continue.
Their fundraising activities included two race nights, held at the Tavern on the Green, Crawley and Wealden Community Centre, Hailsham, as well as a sky-dive, completed by Geoff’s daughter Sarah and grandson Aiden. Enlisting the help of Paul Shortall, from Ballard and Shortall, Crawley, and Howard Coote, Principal Funeral Director at Haine & Son, staff from the CPJ Field-owned branches helped promote the race nights by preparing and putting up posters in and around the local area. The branches also made a further donation of £320.00 to the cause.
Anita Stone, said: “The care Geoff received at the hospice was exceptional and I wanted to raise some money to ensure that others could also benefit from the excellent support that is provided. It costs about £500 a day for a patient to stay at the hospice, so I set about raising about £5,000, equivalent to the cost of his care.
“We’re delighted to have nearly reached this total; the support we’ve had from the local community has been overwhelming and I’d like to thank everyone who came along to the race nights and who made a donation to the cause.”
Commenting, Principal Funeral Director Paul Shortall from Ballard & Shortall, said: “The hospice is an incredibly valued institution within the local community – offering help and care at a time when it is needed most – however, it constantly needs donations to ensure it can continue to provide support.
“We are delighted to have had the opportunity to help Anita and her family with their fundraising and urge others to continue supporting this very worthy cause.”
