Lincolnshire Co-op fundraisers give nine local charities £144,000 funding boost

Lincolnshire Co-op has raised £144,000 for hospices across the region, which will help support the services caring for those with life-limiting conditions.

The Co-op has raised the funds in the three-month period between March and June, with staff and shoppers taking part in a range of activities, volunteering exercises, and helped to raise awareness of the work that hospices do.

(L-R):Sophie Leaning from Holton le Clay Food Store, Tiffany Sarjeant and Danielle Budworth from Lincolnshire Co-op’s Head Office, Debbie Jolliff from Head Office, Simone Peterson from Holton le Clay Food Store, Kelly Slow from Bracebridge Heath Food Store and Stephanie May from Holton le Clay Food Store.

Hundreds of colleagues took part in a sponsored pedometer challenge, as well as a 12k trek along the Cleethorpes coastline by food store colleagues.

Local shoppers also contributed to the fundraising campaign, by donating £1 every time they booked a trip with the Co-op’s 13 travel branches around the county – it added thousands to the total raised.

Lincolnshire Co-op community engagement manager Sam Turner said: “We’re over the moon that communities have come together to raise such a fantastic amount of money for these great causes.”

The hospices, which were presented with the donations at a ceremony in Olsen, Lincoln, are from all over the county:

• St Barnabas Hospice, Lincoln
• Beaumond House Hospice, Newark
• Butterfly Hospice, Boston
• Bassetlaw Hospice, Retford
• Lindsey Lodge Hospice, Scunthorpe
• Saint Catherine’s Hospice, Scarborough
• St Andrew’s Hospice and Andy’s, Grimsby
• The Norfolk Hospice, Kings Lynn
• Dove House Hospice, Hull

St Barnabas Hospice received a donation of over £104,000 that will be shared between their Lincoln, Louth, Gainsborough, Grantham and Spalding services.

Head of fundraising and marketing for St Barnabas Veronica McBain said: “It’s breathtaking to have received something of that magnitude.

“It equates to roughly over 850 hospice-at-home visits, which means our nurses can go into patient’s homes and deliver the hands-on care that’s important at the end of life, which is a wish many patients want these days.

“It’s because of the community shopping at their local stores and other fundraising efforts that Lincolnshire Co-op has been able to deliver this. It is absolutely out of this world.”

(L-R): Kelly Slow from Bracebridge Heath Food Store, Sophie Leaning from Holton le Clay Food Store, Head of Fundraising and Marketing for St Barnabas Veronica McBain, the St Barnabas mascot, Corporate Fundraiser for St Barnabas Caroline Swindon, and Simone Peterson and Stephanie May from Holton le Clay Food Store.

Corporate fundraiser Caroline Swindon added: “This donation will make a massive difference in what we’re able to do to care for people across the county.”