Last weekend, a group of friends from the Tameside area walked from Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United FC, to The Project Solar Stadium, the home of Hyde United FC, whilst visiting other football clubs along the way.
They decided to embark on the walk of around 23 miles to raise money for Willow Wood, as they have all known somebody who has benefitted from the Hospice’s services and they wanted to give something back.
A massive thank you to Chris Grimshaw, Lewis Johnstone, Matt Riley, Carl Riley, Jimbo Stirling, Ross Schofield, Alex Charnley, Matt Harrop, Ryan Millington, Gary Sandiford and Tom Marsland.
Tom even travelled up from London, where he currently lives and works, to do the walk.
A teenage girl from Tameside is lacing up her trainers to embark on a bumper running challenge to raise funds for Willow Wood Hospice.
Freya Goodwin has doubled her target so she is now running 60k in total by taking on 5k runs at Parkrun at Oldham’s Alexandra Park over 12 consecutive Saturday mornings.
Running is something Freya doesn’t normally like doing but the 14-year-old is pushing herself out of her comfort zone, in memory of a close family friend who received end-of-life care at the Hospice in Ashton-under-Lyne last year.
“I want to raise money in memory of a dear family friend who sadly passed away far too soon last year and they have always supported me,” Freya explained.
“Her husband very kindly nominated Willow Wood as the charity that he and his wife would want to support through my fundraising.”
Freya wearing her Willow Wood t-shirt and holding her Willow Wood water bottle during one of her Parkruns
Freya takes on a different challenge at this time every year as part of her studies at Mossley Hollins High School, where community and fundraising is part of their Character Awards initiative.
“Last year I walked the distance of a marathon over the month of March which was a lot of hiking around Dove Stone and different places,” said the Year 9 pupil.
“For this fundraiser, I really wanted to challenge myself by doing something far out of my comfort zone. Most people who know me know that my nemesis is running.
“I can walk, swim, play netball and volleyball but I’m not particularly good at running. I am not expecting to get great times. This challenge is going to be difficult but, as this fundraiser means so much, I will give it my all.”
It’s a family affair as Freya is being accompanied on her runs by mum Faye, dad Steven and their dog Honey.
She has already smashed her initial fundraising target of £100 and hopes to raise as much money as possible for Willow Wood, which provides high quality, multi-professional care, support and education across Tameside and Glossop.
If you are taking on a running event or a challenge for Willow Wood, send an email to fundraising@willowwood.org.uk so the Hospice’s team can support you along the way.
Willow Wood welcomed local MP Robert Largan to see and hear about the vital and varied work of the Hospice’s dedicated staff and volunteers.
Mr Largan was given a tour of the Hospice, based in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, so he could get a flavour of the vast array of services available to patients from the local community.
The High Peak MP also met with several members of Willow Wood’s Senior Management Team and Philip Millson, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, who all outlined in detail the immediate and long-term challenges that the Hospice faces.
They also engaged in an in-depth and productive discussion with the MP about the far-reaching impact that Willow Wood has on the wider community and the need for a sustainable funding model for hospices across the country.
Robert Largan MP in discussion with Willow Wood’s Senior Management Team and Philip Millson, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Willow Wood Hospice needs at least £3.3 million every year to continue providing free, high quality, multi-professional care, support and education to people from Glossop – whose residents Mr Largan represents in Parliament – and Tameside.
Of those costs, around 80 per cent must be raised through the generosity of our local community and support from donors.
The Hospice hopes that Mr Largan, a Conservative MP who also holds the Government role of Assistant Whip, can use his influence both locally and in the House of Commons to lobby for support.
(left to right) Nicola Cheetham, Clinical Director; Sam Duncan, Director of Fundraising & Communications; Ian Wicks, Director of Finance; High Peak MP Robert Largan; Philip Millson, Chair of the Board of Trustees; and Karen Houlston, Chief Executive Officer outside the entrance to the Hospice
Karen Houlston, CEO of Willow Wood Hospice, said: “We were pleased to welcome Robert to the Hospice for the first time and appreciate him taking the time to visit us.
“It is crucial to have the backing of our local MPs so we can address both the short-term funding deficit that hospices like Willow Wood are experiencing and establish a funding structure that is sustainable for the future.
“We are grateful that Robert pledged to do what he can to support the Hospice, particularly in building relationships in Glossop and wider Derbyshire for the benefit of his constituents, as well as agreeing to promote – and even take part in – some of our fundraising events.”
MP Robert Largan said: “It was lovely to visit Willow Wood Hospice. It was great to see the work they do first hand and see the amazing care that they provide for Glossop residents. I am proud to support them.”
Our Memory Fountain is the centrepiece of our beautiful gardens, which provide a serene environment for our patients and those closest to them.
The fountain houses beautiful Memory Stones, which can form algae and moss over the warmer months when the sun shines down.
Our head gardener Sophie came up with the idea of making the fountain have the appearance of a reflection pool by installing a metal framework.
This gives the impression of the stones floating on the surface – a beautiful way to display the stones which mean so much to patients and those closest to them.
Dukinfield Metal Spinners in Audenshaw, a local family business, were only too happy to help.
The team took on the design, creation and building of the heavy framework and also had the entire structure powder coated.
The installation was placed in the fountain but unfortunately a leak was spotted.
However, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated volunteer gardeners, with support from our fabulous corporate volunteers, it has been fixed and the fountain can now be enjoyed again by everyone associated with the Hospice.
David Johnson, one of our volunteer gardeners working on the project, told us: “The original pond was filled with plastic boxes and then stones and Memory Stones on top of that. It was just too difficult to clean, so it was decided we needed a platform which Dukinfield Metal Spinners offered to help with, which was fantastic.
“We cleaned the old pond out and a crew of volunteers from Marks & Spencer took all the stones out, and gently cleaned them, put the new platform in, filled it up and it looked wonderful.
“But then it leaked which we were really disappointed about. It has been eight years since we lifted everything out so the silt had got in somewhere.
“We’ve now put in a pond liner after lifting everything out and we’ve put protection cups on the stand legs for each of those sections so it doesn’t cut into the pond liner. A bit of finesse was required and it took several hours but we got the job done and it looks fantastic again.”
A local author has penned a bespoke treasury of poems to help raise funds for Willow Wood Hospice, which she describes as “a very special place”.
‘Into the Willow Wood’ by Johanne Lee is a variety of poems aimed at children aged 7 to 11, that she hopes adults will enjoy reading too.
The book covers a wide range of subjects from self-belief and faith, to fairytale and nature.
Johanne, who lives in Glossop but is originally from Droylsden, has always had a keen interest in reading and writing poems since her childhood.
It was only during the Covid pandemic that the mother-of-three, who also recently became a grandma, decided to combine her poems together into published books and join poetry groups.
“Poetry has become a daily practice for me,” the 56-year-old told us. “I love poetry and found a way with the picture books to raise awareness in early years settings of things like conservation and kindness.”
‘Into the Willow Wood’ is out now and is the 11th book of Johanne’s collection – which has helped to raise important subjects in children’s minds, as well as awareness and funds for both local and national charities.
The front cover of Johanne’s book called ‘Into the Willow Wood’ which will help to raise funds for Willow Wood Hospice
“The concerning thing to me is how much charity is needed,” said Johanne, who is a former dance teacher, hairdresser and teaching assistant.
“Willow Wood Hospice is a place I’ve known about for a long time. I know so many people who have been in the Hospice and I’ve always wanted to support it in some way. It has helped so many people over the years.
“Local charities like Willow Wood are amazing and they are so imaginative in the ways they raise funds – which never stops and it’s never easy.
“I wanted to put my words and poems to good use. I genuinely wanted to do something with purpose and I want to raise as much money as possible for Willow Wood.”
Fittingly, a poem dedicated to the Hospice called ‘Into the Willow Wood’ features in the book.
The butterfly on the book’s front cover is also a symbol to make the book more unique to the Hospice.
“I know Willow Wood releases butterflies every year and a friend of mine goes to the event,” she said. “I knew it was something associated closely with the Hospice and I wanted it to feature prominently on the cover.”
VIDEO: Listen to Johanne reading one of her poems from the book, called The Truth Fairies, below…
The book, which is around 50 pages in length, was a couple of years in the making.
“I write poetry every single day and some things are to a prompt and some things are specific,” Johanne told us.
“With these poems, I realised they are very different – some are almost fable, which I loved as a child. They are poems that all of a sudden I realised were this book, so I’ve probably been writing them over the last two years and I’ve realised this was the place for them.”
Johanne held a book launch on Friday 12th April – the day it was released – at the Masonic Lodge in Glossop, which was a great success. She raised £550 on the night, which she has kindly donated to the Hospice.
‘Into the Willow Wood’ is available to buy at Dark Peak Books & Gifts in Glossop and through online retailers such as Amazon and Waterstones as a hardback for £14.99. It will soon be available in the Hospice reception shop, on our online shop and at forthcoming fundraising events – we’ll keep you updated!
The book will also be accessible in the future as an eBook.
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