Month: September 2025

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A wonderfully Wicked day at the Willow Wood Hospice Walk

Stamford Park and Chadwick Dam were filled with colour, sparkle, and a dusting of community spirit as hundreds of supporters took on Willow Wood Hospice’s brand-new 5km walk with a difference.

Basking in the autumn sunshine, 275 walkers of all ages came together last Sunday (21st September) with friends and family to create lasting memories while raising vital funds to support patient care.

Over £15,000 has been raised so far and there’s still time to boost the total further by making an online donation at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/willowwalk

This year’s Wicked theme brought magic and colour to every step – with costumes ranging from gravity-defying witches and sparkling Glindas to those simply enjoying the day in their own style.

A real highlight was the dazzling Wicked-inspired performances from The Drama Department, who brought the worlds of Glinda and Elphaba to life with showstopping songs and dance numbers that had the walkers and onlookers singing and clapping along.

The Hospice also continued its collaboration with local colleges as students from Ashton Sixth Form College made fabulous Wicked-themed paper costumes and students from Tameside College added to the fun by providing colourful face painting.

The 5km challenge offered fun for all ages, including a Trail Tracker quiz, sticker trail, finishing-line treat, and of course, every participant received a well-deserved medal and certificate.

Willow Wood’s mascot Woody the Bear was there to cheer everyone on and Tracy Minshull, CEO of the Hospice, cut the ribbon to set the walkers on their way.

Browse through our photo album from the day by clicking on the image below:

Tracey Schofield, Events Lead at Willow Wood Hospice, said: “It was a fantastic day and the weather was kind to us! It was lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves and walking to support patients with life-limiting illnesses and those closest to them.

“A massive thank you to everyone who took part and embraced the Wicked theme; The Drama Department; our Hospice staff and volunteers; Robertson, HN Nuttall and Set Produce; and Tameside Council for use of the park.”

Keep an eye out for next year’s Willow Wood Hospice 5km Walk – the theme for 2026 will be announced very soon.

It costs £3.6 million a year for Willow Wood Hospice to continue providing its essential services to deliver compassionate care to patients from Tameside and Glossop with a life-limiting illness.

With only around 24 per cent of that total coming from the Government, the Hospice relies on the generosity of the community by making donations; organising or supporting fundraising events; donating or buying goods to its charity shops; leaving gifts in Wills; joining the weekly lottery or volunteering.

If you would like to organise your own fundraiser for Willow Wood, the Hospice’s Fundraising team can support you – contact fundraising@willowwood.org.uk or call 0161 330 7788.

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Artist transforms Hyde shop window

Artist Emma Evans has been brightening Hyde’s high street with vibrant shopfront murals in partnership with Tameside Council.

Her latest project transformed the window of our Market Place shop, framing it with Willow Wood Hospice’s familiar trees in a colourful, welcoming design.

The artwork has sparked conversations among shoppers, volunteers, and passers-by, raising awareness of the Hospice’s vital work.

Emma said: “It was such an honour to create the window artwork for Willow Wood. The team are incredibly friendly and the work they do is truly inspiring. The words they chose flow beautifully with the values of the wider Hyde project.”

Gemma Wharmby, manager of our Hyde shop, commented: “I think it really brightens up the window and fits in with our logo perfectly. Emma was lovely and is a regular visitor to our shop so it was really nice to see her work.

“We have had lots of customer feedback saying it looks lovely and bright and really grabs your attention. Lots of customers have asked about the reason behind it and said she’s done a fab job.”

Thank you to Emma and Tameside Council for combining creativity with community pride.

Our Hyde shop manager Gemma next to the finished shop window
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Rotary hits fundraising hole-in-one for Willow Wood

Charity was the real winner at Werneth Low Golf Club as Tameside Rotary’s annual golf day for Willow Wood Hospice raised more than £5,100. 

A bumper 24 teams took part in the competition, which has become a fixture on the local fundraising calendar. 

Thanks to sponsorship from Malbern Windows and support from other local businesses, this year’s event topped previous totals. 

Among the winners on the course were Elly’s Heroes, who took the overall team prize, while WGAF 4 finished runners-up. 

Special mentions also went to Steve Cooper Clarke (nearest the pin, 9th hole), Chris Ventress (nearest the line) and Matt Foster (nearest the pin, 11th hole). 

In the hotly contested “Yellow Ball Competition”, sponsored by FTDS, M60 Scaffolding came out on top.

The 23rd edition of the golf day had a new feature this year – a silent auction for six rounds of golf at courses across the region, donated by supporters.

Lucy Ta’ati, Events and Community Fundraiser at Willow Wood, said: “Tameside Rotary have been steadfast supporters of Willow Wood since the very beginning, and we are so grateful for their dedication in organising this wonderful Golf Day for over 20 years. 

“This year’s event was the biggest and best yet and we want to thank the kind-hearted Rotarians, everyone who joined in, all the sponsors and in particular Malbern Windows and Werneth Low Golf Club for hosting. 

“It costs around £10,000 each day to keep the Hospice open, and without supporters like Tameside Rotary, we simply couldn’t continue providing our vital care for local people.” 

Werneth Low’s Club Captain Lou Arrowsmith added that Willow Wood is also his nominated charity this year, with members already raising another £1,000.

Tameside Rotary’s President Mike Glover paid tribute to the volunteers who made the event possible, before looking ahead to their next big community fundraiser: the Tameside Beer Festival, taking place at Stalybridge Civic Hall on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th September – which is also supporting the Hospice.