Incredible fundraisers are thanked for £200k efforts

Running, cycling, hill rolls and more

Locals have rallied to raise almost £200,000 so far for Strathcarron Hospice during the coronavirus lockdown.

The sum equates to the running costs of the hospice for a fortnight - and efforts to gather in more funds to cover abandoned events continue - but the Strathcarron team say they have been blown away by the response so far.

Fundraising manager Jackie Johnston said, even knowing of the strong support that already existed in local communities, the hospice had been “overwhelmed” by the reaction.

“It’s nearly eight weeks since the introduction of lockdown” said Jackie. “As news was coming through the media about the coronavirus pandemic the fundraising team at Strathcarron put together the #StandWithStrathcarron appeal, never really believing at that time it would need to go live.

“Little did we know at that time what a saviour it would be and how many members of the public would react so quickly.”

Overnight, all of the Strathcarron shops closed, all fundraising events were cancelled and yet the hospice’s running costs remained the same.

“Although our daycare was immediately closed,” said Jackie, “nurses from this area were deployed to other services under pressure, such as our in-patient unit and Hospice@Home. We have also implemented specific Covid-19 related support for workers in care homes, who have come under immense pressure and we continue to support the work of the NHS.

“Our running costs rely on voluntary income of £12,900 per day, every day of the year.

“It’s important to stress we are not part of the NHS so will not benefit from the incredible fundraising effort for this cause - therefore we still need £12,900 every day to cover our costs, just as we always do.

“Our priority is to continue the very specialist palliative care we provide, as we’ve been doing for the past 39 years.”

Thousands of people have already responded to the call.

Jackie added: “The public response to our appeal has been, at times, quite overwhelming. At the time of writing there has been 2,950 gifts made totalling £190,869. Whilst this is incredible, in real terms it covers just over two weeks of the running costs so we aim to keep this momentum going, thanks to our local communities.”

As well as the response itself, the Strathcarron team have also been delighted with how creative people have been with their fundraising ideas.

“In particular, the younger members of our communities have really got on board,” said Jackie. “There’s far too many to mention but we do have some highlights.”

The youngest supporter, Harry Gray, is only two years old and decided to roll down the hill outside his house 150 times, raising £2105. Oliver Murdoch, who is nine years old chose to support the hospice because his dad works there. His chosen challenge was to run the 16 miles his dad drives to work every day by doing a daily 70 laps in his garden, raising £1,322.

Logan Craig, 10, decided to run the equivalent of a marathon in May. He’s now half way through and has managed to raise £1,050.

One of the oldest supporters was Cambusbarron grandmother Jenny Perry - known affectionately to locals as Granny Jenny - who vowed to walk the circle in her cul-de-sac at least 10 times despite her own ill health. Jenny, 84, who suffers from COPD, arthritis and is currently receiving treatment for cancer, was inspired to mount her own challenge after being inspired by 99-year-old NHS hero Captain Tom Moore. She raised a phenomenal £2727.

“Every supporter, young or old, has made a fantastic contribution to #StandWithStrathcarron at this difficult time,” said Jackie, “and we are more grateful than ever for this support.”

Anyone who would like to support the hospice can text ‘Strathcarron £20’ to 70085 to provide one hour of nursing care.