Tag: News

Posted on by

Hospice shops introduce new smoother system for furniture donations

To make the most of every donation, Willow Wood Hospice’s charity shops now have a new system for fast and free furniture collection.

It comes as the Hospice’s furniture donation vans have also been given a much-needed makeover.

Having looked a little worse for wear previously, the refreshed fleet have a clear and contemporary new livery with details of the updated donation process.

With the newly revamped vans hitting the road across Tameside and Glossop, the Hospice is rolling out a smoother system for swifter furniture collections.

Previously, donors had to call the Purchase and Donate (PAD) shop in Stalybridge to arrange a pick-up, but the process has now been streamlined to make it more efficient.

Now, anyone looking to donate furniture can contact Paul King, Warehouse and Logistics Manager, and his team directly.

You can take photographs of the item(s) you wish to donate and send them via WhatsApp on 07549 275158 with your name and address including postcode, as well as a description of the item(s).

If you don’t have WhatsApp, you can submit your photographs by filling out a simple form on the Hospice website at https://willowwood.org.uk/furniture-collection/

For those unable to send photographs, you can call 0161 669 4849 to speak to the team to arrange collection.

Our Hospice furniture donation vans were looking a little worse for wear. But fear not, because we’ve given them a much-needed makeover!

Paul said: “It’s essential that we have as much information as possible about the donation because we cannot accept everything and we would hate to waste anybody’s time in turning up to pick up an item that we would be unable to accept – e.g. a sofa without a fire label or furniture that we wouldn’t be able to sell because of wear and tear.”

The new process means the Hospice’s team can make the best use of the space at the Donation Centre in Ashton-under-Lyne, plan collections more effectively, and get donations into shops quicker than ever.

About the new system, Paul added: “It’s all about better stock distribution, smoother sales, and faster collections.

“This new system isn’t just making collections easier—it’s set to boost furniture sales and improve stock across all three shops! The PAD and Waterloo will continue to sell furniture, but without the added pressure of handling logistics, freeing them up to focus on providing the best possible service to our customers.

“Plus, we’ve simplified booking system, so it’s now easier than ever to donate! We introduced a WhatsApp function which is already been a game-changer, letting people send photos and a description of their donation for a quicker response.

“From first contact to collection, the whole process can now be wrapped up in as little as three days, depending on what suits the donor—making it faster, simpler, and more efficient for everyone!”

If you see the new-look vans out and about, tag Willow Wood Hospice on their Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn platforms.

The Hospice, based in Ashton-under-Lyne, provides specialist, compassionate and dignified care to patients from Tameside and Glossop with any life-limiting illness and those closest to them.

Posted on by

Glossop shop celebrates Vivienne Westwood’s legacy

Our charity shop in Glossop is paying tribute to the iconic fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood with a stunning window display celebrating her incredible legacy.

Vivienne made her mark in the 1970s, bringing punk and new wave fashion into the mainstream with her bold and eccentric designs. We’re honouring her creative spirit with a unique display that reflects her iconic style.

Millie, who has been volunteering in the shop for three years, came up with the idea.

“I’m a massive Vivienne Westwood fan and as we are close to her birthplace, I thought what better way for us to celebrate a true icon for what would have been her birthday,” she said.

Crafted by our talented staff and volunteers, the display was unveiled last Saturday (29th March) and will remain in place until at least Tuesday 8th April, which would have been Vivienne’s 84th birthday.

WATCH: See the window display in a short video, by clicking the play button below…

A connection with Vivienne

Vivienne’s company Vivienne Westwood Limited donated a designer bag to Sara Scott-Rivers, Executive Assistant to our CEO Tracy Minshull – who lives in Tintwistle, where Vivienne grew up.

Sara is a big fan of Vivienne and her brand, as well as her environmentally conscious ethos.

Vivienne received hospice care in south London before she died in December 2022 at the age of 81 and as Sara works at a hospice, it felt like a meaningful connection.

Sara said: “I think Vivienne would approve of the bag helping to raise vital funds for a hospice.”

Describing the piece, Sara added: “It’s small and tartan with a thick heavy chain – very eye-catching. It’s in its dust bag with a little card. I hope it raises a decent amount for Willow Wood and it would be lovely if it finds a home with someone who loves all things Westwood.”

Sara with the bag outside the Hospice

Win a Westwood masterpiece!

That very bag is now part of our Glossop shop display, in photographic form, and is the prize in an exciting raffle.

Tickets can be bought in the shop at 12 High Street West, and at Pixie Bakes Cakery & Coffee Shop in Tintwistle, for £1 each. The raffle will be drawn on Saturday 19th April.  

Even after her move to London, Vivienne never forgot her Peak District roots. Indeed, a striking mural of the designer, created by local artist Deggy, is proudly displayed in Glossop town centre.

So it’s fitting that our boutique-style Glossop shop remembers a local icon who will always be synonymous with fashion.

Caroline Lillis, our Glossop shop manager, said: “We’re excited to celebrate Vivienne Westwood’s incredible legacy with this special window display. I’d like to thank the whole team for their hard work – it looks magnificent.

“As a trailblazing fashion icon with strong local connections, this is a wonderful opportunity to honour her creativity and impact. We hope the display inspires our community and highlights Vivienne’s lasting influence on fashion.”

If you’re in Glossop, make sure to stop by and take a look!

You’ve got to see the display for yourself!

Fashion Show alert!

On the subject of style, don’t miss our next Fashion Show on Friday 9th May at The Lock in Stalybridge. Expect a fabulous night of style, sparkle, and bargains!

For more details and tickets, visit willowwood.org.uk/events/fashion-show

Posted on by

Sixth Form students give their time to Hospice shops

Seven students from Ashton Sixth Form College have spent some of their time volunteering recently in our Willow Wood Hospice charity shops.

Ahmed Cali, Adam Dixon, Armaan Hussain, Oliver Hutchfield, Nathan Nyoni, Alexandra Serban and Maurice Owhonda Utchay generously gave their time to support our retail operations.

The seven of them, all second-year A-Level Business students, gave a combined 350 hours volunteering at The Purchase and Donate (PAD) in Stalybridge, as well as at our Waterloo and Ashton-under-Lyne shops.

The students had to complete 40 hours of work experience each as part of their course, but they all ended up doing 50 instead – between 24th February and 3rd March.

Ahmed and Maurice volunteering at our Ashton town centre shop

Adam, 18, from Dukinfield admitted he didn’t know a lot about the Hospice beforehand. However, he learned a lot more during his time volunteering, including that the income generated from our charity shops directly supports patient services at the Hospice.

Adam commented on his time working at The PAD in Stalybridge: “It was fantastic. It helped me improve my confidence and other skills like communication and time management.

“When the delivery van came in, I helped move all of the sofas and cabinets into the store, and I carried items from the store into the van to deliver to customers. I also put donated items onto shelves and helped customers when they needed support.”

The work of the students not only supported the Hospice’s shops, but it also gave them opportunities to build their skills and gain more work experience.

Adam being interviewed at Ashton Sixth Form College by Ciaran Greenwood during his placement with the Hospice’s Communications team

Adam further commented on his future ambitions, seeking entrepreneurial goals: “I want to start sharing, like going into investments and start going from there. So just get a job somewhere, save up money and start investing it into various businesses.”

He enjoyed it so much that Adam is continuing his volunteering at Willow Wood, working at The PAD on Fridays during his free periods at college. We wish him and the rest of our amazing student volunteers the best of luck in their future endeavours.

Willow Wood Volunteer Services Manager, Lisa Pye, had this to say about the students’ efforts: “We are very thankful for the amazing support that the students at Ashton Sixth Form College have given us. Volunteers are vitally important to help support the work that Willow Wood Hospice does. We’ve had fantastic feedback from the retail managers about all of the hard work they have done, and we hope they enjoyed it and taken something from the experience.”

If you want to learn more about the volunteering opportunities that are available at Willow Wood Hospice, please visit www.willowwood.org.uk/volunteering to express your interest.

By Ciaran Greenwood

Posted on by

Waterloo News hops to it for Willow Wood

Our heartfelt thanks go out to the team behind Waterloo News, who have once again shown amazing community spirit by supporting our Bunny Hop fundraiser.

Established in 2019 to provide residents in the Waterloo area of Ashton-under-Lyne with local updates, Waterloo News is a Facebook page run by dedicated locals Dave Howarth and Lee Woods.

Before Covid, they took over the page with a mission to not only share local news but also support good causes in the community.

Their efforts are further strengthened by Emma Jones from Perry Jones Funeral Services, located just a stone’s throw from our Clearance Outlet and Donation Centre, and close to our Waterloo shop.

Together, this dedicated team has been key in gathering Creme Egg donations for our Bunny Hop fundraiser for three consecutive years.

This year, they collected an impressive 445 eggs, bringing their overall total to over 1,400 eggs – which is also testament to the generosity of the wider Waterloo community.

The sweet treats are given to every child taking part as a reward for hopping for the Hospice.

“The Hospice’s Waterloo shop is local to us and we want to support local businesses and organisations as best we can,” said Dave.

Emma added: “I’m very aware of the donations the Hospice relies on to keep going and it’s great that we can support an organisation that’s very local to us.”

We are grateful for their ongoing support, which makes a difference to our fundraising efforts. Thank you to Dave, Lee and Emma – you truly embody the spirit of community!

To learn more about our Bunny Hop fundraiser and how you can get involved, click here.

EGG-CELLENT: Pictured are Emma Jones (left) from Perry Jones Funeral Services and Dave Howarth from Waterloo News (centre) delivering some Creme Eggs to Kellie Moulton, our Waterloo shop manager. 

Posted on by

Dukinfield cyclist’s birthday bike ride for Willow Wood

A father-of-two from Dukinfield has cycled 60 miles for his 60th birthday to raise money for Willow Wood Hospice.

Ian Saxon, who retired in 2023 after 40 years working in environmental services at Tameside Council, peddled around the Greater Manchester area in support of his local hospice.

Ian, accompanied by his friends and family, started their ride at the iTrain gym in Dukinfield before traversing throughout Manchester, passing down the Fallowfield Loop, around Manchester Airport, and making their way past Jodrell Bank, Poynton and Romiley.

Instead of receiving gifts for his birthday, Ian asked people to donate to the Hospice. After his fantastic efforts on 9th March, over £1,200 has been raised so far!

Ian, who also has a granddaughter, said: “I always had a bike as a child. I’ve got very fond memories of cycling as a kid, and then I probably lost a little bit of interest whilst I was at university, but I soon got back into it and probably since then I’ve cycled continuously.”

Ian with his family and friends before they set off on their bike ride. Photo credit: Steve Giblin.

Experienced cyclist Ian has always felt a connection to the Hospice and has supported Willow Wood in the past, by previously peddling 50 miles for his 50th birthday and 40 miles for his 40th birthday.

Ian elaborated on his cycling adventures: “We’ve done some quite long trips. We’ve done Land’s End to John O’Groats twice. When I retired, me and my friend did a ride which we called from Home to Rome.”

As for Ian’s reasons for supporting the Hospice, he explained: “Someone described it to me, which really resonated with me, as Willow Wood for local people is something like a life insurance policy that you hope you never need to claim on.

“But if you need it, you need it local and we all need it to be there. We just hope we never need to use it. So that’s kind of stuck with me, and I know the value of it locally.”

Ian pictured in our beautiful Hospice gardens.

Ian didn’t do his fundraiser alone and he is grateful for the support he received.

“I want to thank my wife Mandy and our friend Bev for making coffee and sandwiches for everyone, as well as my friend and former colleague Steve Giblin for coming to take some photos.”

Lucy Ta’ati, Community Fundraiser at Willow Wood Hospice, commented: “We are incredibly grateful to Ian for his support to Willow Wood Hospice with his fantastic fundraiser. Donations are a valuable part of supporting the work the Hospice does, and support in any way is greatly appreciated. Well done, Ian!”

If you want more information about Ian’s fundraiser and you wish to donate, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/ian-saxon-3.

If you want to support the Hospice with a fundraiser of your own, please contact our Fundraising team by emailing fundraising@willowwood.org.uk or by calling 0161 330 7788.

By Ciaran Greenwood

Posted on by

Hospice leaders urge MPs to support funding reform on Parliament visit

Our CEO Tracy Minshull and Clinical Director Nicola Cheetham went to Parliament yesterday (Tuesday) to ask MPs to support reforming the funding model for hospices.

During the event, the Greater Manchester Hospices Provider Collaborative asked MPs to sign a joint letter to the Minister of State for Health and Social Care.

The letter called for the Government’s new 10-year health plan to include improvements to palliative and end-of-life care, and a reformation of the current hospice funding model.

Currently £11.7bn is spent on health care for people in the last year of their life in the UK, with 80 per cent spent in hospitals and just four per cent on hospice care. Hospices in Greater Manchester care for around 10,000 patients every year.

Since 2020, hospice costs in Greater Manchester have risen by 33 per cent, with two-thirds of costs paid for by fundraising within the local community.

The Government announced just before Christmas that hospices in England will receive £100m over the next two years, which has been welcomed by Greater Manchester’s hospices.

However, it can only be spent on improvements such as to buildings, IT systems and outdoor spaces and does not cover day-to-day running costs.

Tracy and Nicola with other Greater Manchester hospice leaders outside Parliament

Tracy Minshull, Willow Wood Hospice CEO, commented: “Willow Wood Hospice has a vital role in providing compassionate, specialist care for any adult in our local community with a life-limiting illness.

“The current funding model is simply unsustainable. With rising costs and increasing demand, we urgently need a fairer, long-term solution to ensure hospices like ours can continue to support those who need us most.

“Meeting with some of our Greater Manchester MPs in Parliament was an important opportunity to highlight these challenges and call for meaningful change. We hope the Government will listen and take action to secure the future of hospice care.

“Thank you to Trish Cavanagh, from Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, who attended to support us as our locality lead.”

The Greater Manchester Hospices Provider Collaborative is a long-standing strategic partnership between the seven adult and two children’s hospices across the region’s 10 boroughs, who work closely together to improve the quality, access and sustainability of services.

The parliamentary event was sponsored by Makerfield MP Josh Simons.

Posted on by

College students get creative to support hospice care

We’re thrilled that the Aspirations group at Tameside College has chosen Willow Wood Hospice as their charity for an exciting enterprise competition.

Using offcuts from the college woodshop, they have made stamps from scratch and used them to print unique designs on tote bags, pencil cases and badges.

Their goal is to raise at least £200 for our Hospice while showcasing their creativity and business skills – as part of their entry into a Manchester wide business challenge.

They kicked off their fundraising with a fantastic hands-on workshop at the Beaufort Road Food Hub, where people could buy pre-made items or print their own designs—it was so much fun!

We also hosted a pop-up shop in our reception, selling their amazing creations, with all proceeds going directly to Willow Wood.

The competition runs until Friday 28th February. They will present their idea to the judging panel and the winner will be announced on 11th March.

A huge thank you to Becky Holmes, the teacher leading this project, and to the students for their incredible effort.

Posted on by

LISTEN: Sam Duncan on BBC Radio Manchester

Our Director of Fundraising and Communications, Sam Duncan, appeared on BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday morning (20th February). 

Sam spoke to Breakfast show host Joe McGrath about Willow Wood Hospice and our Creme Egg Appeal as part of our Bunny Hop campaign.

Listen to the interview in full by clicking the play button below:

Posted on by

Christmas tree recycling success

Willow Wood’s Christmas tree recycling service has raised a tree-mendous amount towards supporting patient care at the Hospice.

The convenient recycling initiative allowed residents across Tameside and Glossop to register their festive firs online to be collected and responsibly disposed of in the new year, while making a donation of their choice to the Hospice.

In total, over 460 real trees were collected and nearly £9,000 has been raised, which will make a difference to patients with a life-limiting illness from our local communities.

In Tameside, trees were collected between 8th and 17th January and then chipped by Tameside Council’s Greenspace team, who will re-use them in local parks.

In Glossop, the trees were collected by Amazon and A&D Distribution Services between 8th and 13th January and taken to Hartleys Garden Centre to be stored. They have been chipped by Bankswood Treecare and used by the Pony Patch to lay a new path for the ponies.

Samantha Kitch, Fundraising Manager at Willow Wood Hospice, said: “On behalf of us all at the Hospice, a sincere thank you to all of our brilliant partners for facilitating the collection and recycling of the trees, and to everyone who registered their trees and donated to Willow Wood.

“We would also like to thank all those who helped to spread the word and raise awareness of the tree recycling service.

“With only around 21 per cent of our funding coming from central government, the support we receive from our local communities is absolutely vital.”

Tameside Council Executive Member for Environmental Services and Neighbourhoods, Councillor Laura Boyle, said: “We’ve been really pleased to work with Willow Wood Hospice on this scheme once again and it’s fantastic to see it going from strength to strength.

“It has been a brilliant opportunity for people to do something positive for the environment while also supporting a charity that does such important and valued work in our community and is close to so many people’s hearts. Thank you to everyone who supported the scheme, you have really helped to make a difference.”

The collection and recycling service was also supported by national charity Just Helping, which assists charities, volunteers and businesses to contribute to their community and the environment.

After costs, Willow Wood Hospice will receive 85 per cent of donations and up to 15 per cent will be distributed by Just Helping to other local charities.