Pals act to boost hospice campaign
CHEQUE IT OUT ... event organisers Graeme Brand, left, and Kenny Soden with St Clares day care patients, from left Margaret Roberts and Pauline Jameson.
A CHARITY night has given a £550 boost to a cash-strapped hospice in South Tyneside.
Kenny Soden, along with friends Graeme Brand and Keith Longstaff, organised a fundraising night at The County pub in Sunderland Road, South Shields, in aid of the Gazette’s c/o St Clare’s campaign.
The event included a performance from local band Barely Human and a raffle.
It is the second year the friends have held a fundraising night. Last year, it supported armed forces charity Help for Heroes.
Mr Soden, from Westoe, South Shields, said: “We saw that the charity was facing a £50,000 deficit and decided to try to raise some money.
“The idea came about last year as a way of getting everyone together and we’re going to pick a different charity every year.
“St Clare’s is a worthwhile cause. They do sterling work. A lot of people are suffering out there and St Clare’s does a great thing.
“Everyone out there has to deal with cancer in one way or another and it’s such an excellent facility.”
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE FOR ST CLARE’S
Our turn to show we care for St Clare’s
How you can help St Clare’s Hospice
’It’s all about giving people dignity’
Family’s appeal as face of our campaign dies
St Clare’s, in Primrose Terrace, Jarrow, was set up in 1987 to provide palliative care to the people of South Tyneside with life-limiting illnesses.
It has annual running costs of £2m – £1.4m of which it must raise itself.
But this year it is facing a £50,000 shortfall, and the Gazette has launched a campaign to help plug the gap.
Mr Soden added: “If St Clare’s goes, where else is there?
“When you go into St Clare’s you see that the patients are suffering from cancer, but they all have smiles on their faces because it’s such a fantastic place.
“It would be such a shame to lose it and I really hope that other people will support it.”
St Clare’s fundraising manager Marie Watson said: “We’re very grateful that Kenny and his friends decided to use their event to raise money for the hospice.
“They’ve raised a tremendous amount, which will be a huge help with the daily running of St Clare’s and a big push towards our fundraising target.
“We heavily rely on the public to support our fundraising efforts and appreciate any help we can get.
“We’re very thankful for the tremendous effort of this group of friends.”
vicki.newman@northeast-press.co.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page- Tottenham Hotspur set to swoop for Newcastle United ace
- Footballer says sorry for horror-injury tackle
- Newcastle striker spared long trip before Sunderland clash
- Transfer Rumours Feb 22: Demba Ba, Asamoah Gyan, Newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea
- Transfer Rumours Feb 22 update: Demba Ba, Asamoah Gyan, Newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Leicester
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for South Shields
Thursday 23 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 25 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 26 mph
Wind direction: West
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.