Hospice fundraiser seeks sponsors in push for £25,000
ADEDICATED charity fundraiser is looking for spon- sors to take his fundraising total up to £25,000.
Steve Elliot, who lives on Redhouse Close in Clayton-le-Moors, has been raising money for Derian House children’s hospice in Accrington for the past four years.
He hosts fundraising nights at Accrington’s Poplar Club, which usually have a specific musical theme.
Past events have included a 1970s Glam and Glitter night, a Legends night and an Abba night.
Steve said: “I was asked to compere an event in Rishton many moons ago and really enjoyed it.
“I thought I could do the nights myself. A friend’s child went to the Derian House hospice, and I thought we’d dedicate our fundraising to them.”
The 57-year-old said he fell in love with Derian House, especially after seeing the positive effect the hospice had on the children that visited.
He said: “There’s a long corridor, and at the end of it, there was a little girl playing in a ball pool, just giggling away to herself.
“It was great to see that a place could have that kind of positive effect on a child who was going through so much.”
Steve has organised 11 of these events over the past four years, raising around £16,000 in the process.
He also dedicated one of his nights to raising money for the victims of the Manchester Arena bomb in May.
Steve says his main aim at the moment is to find sponsors for the event. Tickets normally sell out quickly, Steve says, because his nights seem to have become a cult hit in the area.
He said: “I’d love to hit £25,000 to be honest, and we have sponsors on board for next year, but we’d love to get a few more - one even pledged to give a donation of £1,000.
“I love music - I do a little bit of stand-up, I’m also the compere, and we sell out to 250 people every time.”
Steve says sponsors will receive an official letter of thanks from Derian House as well as the opportunity to do an official handover photo with a charity cheque.
He says that he will no longer be organising the events after 2018, but will be focusing on a number of different projects for Derian House.
If anyone is interested in sponsoring any of Steve’s upcoming events, they should contact him directly on 07599 085309.