NHRR Web-a-thon raises thousands for Hospice

NHRR President Richard Harbon presents the cheque to Jayne Dingemans, Head of Nursing at Garden House Hospice

North Herts Road Runners have presented a cheque for £5,000 to Letchworth’s Garden House Hospice as it faces a funding shortfall caused by the Coronavirus crisis.
 
Our Web-a-thon evening of entertainment and appeals for donations raised an amazing £3,173, smashing the £1,000 target set by Membership Secretary Phil Hunt, who first came up with the idea for the event. There was also a further £327 donated by Greenway Challenge entrants and an additional donation from the club’s own funds which rounded up the final figure to £5,000.
 
The closure of the Hospice’s shops and loss of other fundraising events has left it facing a huge drop in its expected income and the Web-a-thon went some way towards replacing money that would have been raised for the Hospice by the running club’s annual Greenway Challenge half-marathon.
 
Donations flooded in as more than 100 people logged on from their homes to enjoy an evening of singing, music, dancing and Caroline Thrussell’s hula-hoop challenge - all put on by our talented members. An auction of promises ranging from cake-baking to babysitting to guided birdwatching walks – all to take place once the lockdown is eased - pushed the total above the £3,000 mark. Local driving school Go Drive even donated 20 hours of driving lessons to go to the highest bidder.
 
Web-a-thon impresario Phil Hunt said ‘I was blown away by the generosity of our members and many friends who supported this event and donated to Garden House Hospice Care. We had a lot of fun putting on the event and seeing people we know for their running put their other talents on show. I am absolutely delighted that we managed to raise so much for this vital local cause.’

Sue Plummer, CEO of Garden House Hospice Care, added: ‘As a direct result of the Coronavirus pandemic demand for our care has increased. However, we are unable to fundraise in the ways we usually do, with our usual fundraising activities cancelled or postponed and our shops closed. We are forecasting a loss of £25,000 a week – that’s £1.3 million this year.
 
‘We are so grateful to our very loyal supporters, and without groups like North Herts Road Runners getting behind us our future faces a serious threat.  The club did a fantastic job raising over £3200 in the Web- a-thon. We would like to thank everyone involved for supporting the hospice and helping ensure we can continue to provide palliative and end of life care to our community.’

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