Tag: Ashton-under-Lyne

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Law firm supports Willow Wood as charity of the year

Our sincere thanks to Bromleys Solicitors for raising a fantastic £862.50 for the Hospice, after choosing Willow Wood as their Charity Partner for 2023.

Throughout the year, staff at the Tameside law firm organised a number of lunches, dress down days and sweepstakes to raise funds. They also attended our Grand Ball in October.

Lauren Healy and Chris Eaton, from Bromleys’ Staff Committee, recently presented a cheque to Samantha Kitch, our Fundraising Manager.

Samantha said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Bromleys for choosing Willow Wood as their Charity of the Year last year and to everyone at the firm who helped to raise a fantastic amount for the Hospice.

“The money will make a difference to patients from Tameside and Glossop with a life-limiting illness in our care. With only 20 per cent of our annual funding coming through central government, the generous support of our community is vital so we can continue to provide a wide range of services to improve the quality of life for our patients and those closest to them.”

Chris and Lauren described the firm’s fundraising efforts as “incredible”.

Lauren added: “It is great to hear what a positive difference the money raised will have on the hospice and its patients and we hope to continue our support in the future.”

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Willow Wood named Ladysmith’s Charity of the Year

Willow Wood Hospice will receive a welcome boost to our funds and awareness after being named Ladysmith Shopping Centre’s Charity of the Year for 2024/25.

The partnership will run from April 2024 until the end of March 2025, giving the Hospice a chance to fundraise at the town centre shopping destination and spread the word about our services.

Our mission is to lead and deliver high-quality, multi-profession specialist palliative care, support and education across Tameside and Glossop.

They will put on events, spanning seasonal occasions such as the summer holidays, festive period and Easter, at the shopping centre, with details to be posted on social media.

Ian Pratt, Centre Manager at Ladysmith Shopping Centre, is excited to kick off the partnership and looks forward to seeing what can be achieved together.

He commented: “We are thrilled to partner with Willow Wood as our Charity of the Year for 2024/25.

“Their unwavering commitment to providing comfort and support for people with life-limiting illnesses is unmatched, and we cannot wait to work with them and help support all the incredibly important work they do.”

Ladysmith Shopping Centre combines unique independent businesses and high street brands all under one beautifully curated space, with a community feel. For more information visit www.ladysmithshoppingcentre.com

Pictured: Denise Royle, manager at our Ashton shop, with Ian Pratt, Centre Manager at Ladysmith Shopping Centre

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Ashton shop manager speaks to Tameside Radio

The manager of our Ashton-under-Lyne shop, Denise Royle, has been speaking to Tameside Radio’s Alex Cann about how you can support the Hospice through our shops. 

The interview was first aired on the Breakfast show on Monday 5th February.

If you missed their chat, you can listen below…

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Ashton girl’s festive fundraising in memory of her nan

An enthusiastic girl made Christmas tree decorations to raise a fantastic amount for Willow Wood Hospice, which supported her nan.

Ava Knott crafted her own Gonks, which she sold at the Christmas Market and one of the Garden of Lights celebration evenings at the Hospice with her mum Cheryl.

The 10-year-old from Ashton-under-Lyne made around 85 in total – some of them even travelled as far as France!

The Holden Clough Community Primary School pupil raised £201.60, which will make a difference to patients with any life-limiting illness from Tameside and Glossop in Willow Wood’s care.

Ava’s mum Cheryl said: “We also sold them to family and friends, and even friends of friends as other people heard about what she was doing and wanted to support her. We’ve done so many orders!

“We suggested a donation of £2 for one, but some people donated as much as £6.”

Helping the Hospice based in Ashton-under-Lyne is important to Ava’s family, and making the Gonks was a creative way for Ava to show her own support.

Cheryl explained: “We lost my mum, Ava’s nan Lynn Elizabeth Knott, in October 2022 so Ava knows how much this has meant to us as a family. The Hospice supported us when we needed it.

“It started off when my sister, Ava’s auntie Michaela, came around one day and, as the weather was bad outside, she suggested making some Gonks.

“We got some wool out and then she said all we needed was a toilet roll holder. That’s how they started to make them.

“Ava then carried on making them and then she asked me if we could sell them as we had been saying how good they were. She then came up with the idea of giving the money she raised to Willow Wood.

“I put a Facebook post on with a picture of three of the Gonks, saying that Ava was thinking about selling these to raise money for Willow Wood in memory of her nan and before we knew it, orders were coming in. Every day, people were messaging asking for a particular colour.

“She made a variety of colours and I helped her out with the gluing part but she’s done it mainly on her own, in her own time after school and at weekends. She’s been very enthusiastic about it.”

Selling the festive-themed Gonks has encouraged Ava to think about more fundraising ideas for the Hospice.

Cheryl said: “We’ve got Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day coming up and she’s been thinking about what she can do for those, so she’ll be busy over the next few weeks!”

Ava is grateful for all of the support she has received so far.

The youngster told us: “I want to thank my mum and my auntie Michaela for helping me and giving me the idea. My grandad Allan has also been very supportive.”

If you would like to join Ava in helping to raise funds for Willow Wood Hospice in any way, you can contact our Fundraising Team by emailing fundraising@willowwood.org.uk or call 0161 330 7788.

By Adam Higgins

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Willow Wood Ball raises grand total for hospice

Hundreds of people attended the Willow Wood Grand Ball, which has raised thousands of pounds in vital funds for the Hospice.

The glittering charity event was held at The Village Hotel in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, where the Hospice is based.

After stepping off the red carpet with a complimentary drink, attendees enjoyed a three-course meal before dancing the night away. Live entertainment was also provided by swing band Schwing.

The Civic Mayor of Tameside, Councillor Tafheen Sharif, was among the special guests lending their support.

A silent auction, auction and grand raffle with some fantastically donated prizes all helped boost funds on the evening. This included a glove signed by Ederson, which was kindly donated by Manchester City Football Club and raised £600 alone.

In total, Willow Wood is delighted to report that the Grand Ball has raised over £25,000, with more money still coming in.

Karen Houlston, CEO of Willow Wood Hospice, said: “It was a fantastic night and has been a welcome and overdue event. It felt a special occasion to have the Willow Wood Ball back on the calendar.

“After everything that has gone on over the last few years with the pandemic, it was just so nice to see everyone back together and dancing and enjoying themselves.

“A big thank you as well to all of our sponsors, particularly our main event sponsor Gerard McDermott KC, but also the many others who have donated some wonderful raffle and auction prizes.”

Those prizes included everything from weekend breaks away to amazing hampers of food and drink, plus beauty products and many more.

Sam Duncan, Director of Fundraising and Communications at Willow Wood Hospice, commented: “It’s been fantastic and quite moving to see everyone arriving on the red carpet and the dance floor was full, so thank you to the wonderful band Schwing.

“I also have to say a huge thank you to the fundraising team and all the volunteers for helping to make the event happen and all of the local businesses too who have given us so much support, and our main sponsor Gerard McDermott KC.”

Sam added that it was a proud and emotional evening, saying: “It’s a unique privilege working at a hospice as you build connections with family and friends of people who we have cared for and those connections last a lifetime and those family and friends were with us at the ball. It was a very moving but rewarding event.”

Cllr Sharif, Tameside’s civic mayor who also represents the Mossley ward, said she wanted to support the Grand Ball because the hospice is so close to her heart.

She said: “I visited officially to meet the staff and volunteers recently and you are just so taken aback by how peaceful everything is and I wanted to give the ball my full support.”

By Adam Higgins 

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Crown green bowls match raises hospice funds

A club in Ashton-under-Lyne held a crown green bowls match to raise funds for Willow Wood Hospice.

Despite the soggy, wet and muddy bowling green, locals battled it out throughout the day on Sunday 8th October to scoop the cup prize.

It was won by Stephen Radcliffe, after he beat John McGhee in the final round.

The match was organised by Waterloo and Taunton Conservative Club, who raised a fantastic £320 for the hospice – which provides free, specialist palliative care for patients with life-limiting illnesses in Tameside and Glossop.

Lisa Buckley, Community Fundraiser at Willow Wood, said: “We are very grateful to the club for organising the crown green bowls match and choosing us to benefit from the brilliant amount that was raised. Thank you to everyone who took part and we hope everyone had a great day despite the difficult conditions.”

Leon Tamcken, Chairman of Waterloo and Taunton Conservative Club, said: “A huge thank you to everyone who supported this fundraiser, which is now in its eighth year of being sponsored by Tameside Glass Ltd.

“I would also like to thank Rob Bailey, Manager at Howarth Timber, the UK timbers merchants in Ashton-under-Lyne, for their kind donation of wooden boards to get the crown green looking tip top for the event.”

By Adam Higgins 

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Dunelm store in Ashton helps to furnish hospice

Dunelm in Ashton-under-Lyne has donated a generous amount of homewares and furniture to Willow Wood Hospice, who provide high quality care and support across the Tameside and Glossop community.

The donation of comfy chairs, cushions, lamps, bookshelves and accessories have been used to furnish the hospice’s bereavement rooms, meaning loved ones can spend quality time in a homely and comfortable space.

The store members at Ashton-under-Lyne chose to donate to Willow Wood Hospice as their staff have supported many of Dunelm’s store colleague’s friends and family, while the hospice also provided incredible care for two previous Dunelm employees during an extremely hard time.

Summer Law, Community Champion at Dunelm Ashton-under-Lyne, said: “The team at Willow Wood Hospice do such an important job caring for local people and we wanted to do our bit to make sure they continue to be cared for in a space that feels like a home away from home.”

Lisa Buckley, from Willow Wood Hospice, added: “We are delighted with the makeover the team from Dunelm Ashton-under-Lyne, it has provided in an extremely important space within the Hospice. We’ve received lovely feedback on how relaxing and peaceful the room is, we can’t thank the Dunelm team enough.”

The donation is part of the homeware retailer’s series of initiatives in the North West, which sees its network of stores support members of their local community in a variety of different ways, during what is a challenging time for so many.

The initiatives include the store’s new Home to Home homeware donation scheme, part of Dunelm’s wider commitment to a circular economy.

The Home to Home scheme, which is available at the Ashton-under-Lyne store, as well as Dunelm’s 17 other North West stores, allows customers to donate pre-loved homeware items from any retailer, to be redistributed to local charities and community groups in the region.

It enables people to reduce household clutter without sending items to landfill, while benefiting those in their local communities who may otherwise go without essential homewares.

From Tameside Reporter on Monday, 3 July 2023