St Helena Hospice Awareness Day

St Helena Hospice held their annual Awareness Day on Friday 7th October, with the aim to raise awareness of the Hospice throughout the region and get people talking about what the Hospice means to our community. They also took their new Hospice mascot Dandy Lion out and about on this day, and to various events in the lead up to the day, and all the staff at the Hospice dressed in green in honour of the Hospice colour.

The Hospice have encouraged organisations, groups, companies, schools, nurseries and individuals to get involved on the day, by raising awareness and fundraising for them. The Fundraising team came up with some simple and fun ideas these included, a dress down 'be seen in green' day, recycling any unwanted items that can be donated to any of the eight Hospice shops, a colouring competition for the little ones, a raffle or a cake sale.

The team have been out and about with Dandy Lion spreading awareness of the Hospice and they have visited Ego Hair and Beauty, Hospital Arms and Dovercourt Ford. They’ve visited the staff at the Natwest Bank at Severalls Business Park to say thank you for giving their time to volunteer at the Hospice the week previous, they’ve collected Harvest Festival goods from Puddleducks Day Nursery in Old Heath and Humpty Dumpty pre-school in Colchester.

During the lead up to and on the actual day, the team and Dandy Lion were out and about at The Old Schoolhouse Kindergarten, Cosgrove Lodge and Just Learning Day Nursery in Stanway, Puddlecuks Nursery in Old heath and Witham, Langham Pres-School, Great Horkesley Pre-school, Millfields Primary School Country Fair, Plume Avenue Nursery in Prettygate and St Clare’s Day Nursery in Clacton. Dandy even stopped by to visit his buddies in the lion enclosure at Colchester Zoo!

Fundraising was also taking place at Kirby Primary School, Cann Hall Primary School, St Peter's Primary School, Brinkley Grove School, Stanway School, Heathlands Primary School, Daniel Robinson Funeral Directors and The Gilberd School.

Businesses who have thrown themselves into the spirit of fundraising for the day include Caramel Browne hairdressers in Stanway, who will be dressing down in green and holding a cake sale, and the 12th Colchester Sea Scout Group, who are bringing in unwanted goods for the Hospice shops and holding a colouring competition. Awareness talks will also be happening in assemblies around the region at Holmwood House Preparatory School, Millfields Primary School, and Feering Primary School.

We are so grateful to everyone that got involved on the day, thank you for your support!