An eco-friendly car and a champion cheese have helped raise thousands of pounds for Children’s Hospice South West and renewable energy projects - thanks to the generosity of visitors and supporters at this year’s Royal Bath & West Show.
The champion cheese was a 25 kilo traditional cheddar made by Keen’s Cheddar of Wincanton, which was later donated for auction at the show and was bought by Longmans Cheese Sales Ltd from North Cadbury, raising £425 for Children’s Hospice South West.
At the same time the Show’s Grand Draw for tickets for a QPOD car, kindly donated by TV star Noel Edmonds raised nearly £7,000 to be shared by two of the TV star’s favourite causes - the much-needed new children’s hospice for the South West and renewable energy projects in the region.
Noel Edmonds, himself a farmer and passionately concerned about sustainability and the environment, is chairman of the Renewable Energy Foundation. The host of the hit Channel 4 show “Deal Or No Deal” is also patron of the South West’s only children’s hospice, Little Bridge House near Barnstaple, which was built 10 years ago and supports over 200 sick children and their families each year with respite care and help.
And he is supporting the £15 million “Babe’s Big Appeal” for Children’s Hospice South West, a new hospice currently under construction at Charlton Farm on the Tyntesfield Estate at Wraxall near Bristol, which will double the provision of care and respite available in the region when it opens to families in April 2007. More than 1000 children in the region currently face life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses.
Once open the state of the art new hospice, which will cost £3 million a year to run, will provide tender loving care for sick children and support for their families. There will be individually designed children’s bedrooms, rooms for parents and siblings to stay in too, a Jacuzzi with special hoists, and round the clock care by staff. Other facilities include a soft play room, a messy room, a computer room and a sensory room all designed to make their time there extra special.
This month Diane Abbott, sponsorship and fund-raising manager, Fran Weelen, press officer, both from the Royal Bath & West of England Society, and Darren Rushmere, sales operation manager for Longmans, visited the new hospice site to hand over the cheques to Jane Powell, Community Fundraiser for Hospice South West. Also present for the handover was the winner of the QPOD car, retired Rolls Royce draughtsman Mr Clive Stuckes, from Headley Lane, Bristol, and his wife Maureen.
Mrs Abbott, Mr Rushmere and Mr Stuckes said they were delighted to help support such a worthy cause.
More information about the Children’s Hospice South West can be obtained from their website www.chsw.org.uk or from 01275 866600, or e-mail Jane Powell at jane.powell@chsw.org.uk
↧
Thousands Raised for Children's Hospice
↧