Gloria inspires her family to join midnight walkers
FOR PR specialists Cathy Barlow and daughter Jen Heil the Manchester Midnight Walk on Friday, May 20, will be a poignant occasion.
They will be remembering Cathy’s late mum Gloria Anderson (78) who was a patient at St Ann’s Hospice in 2014.
The 10km walk, organised by the charity, returns after a three-year absence and it is not too late to take part.
Colleagues at Smith Goodfellow, where Cathy is MD and Jen is business development manager, will join them and hundreds of other walkers leaving Manchester Cathedral at midnight for a circuit of the city centre.
Cathy said: “Our family has a long-standing connection with St Ann’s which is a fantastic local facility. Mum was born in Cheadle and ran the information offices in Cheadle Hulme and Bramhall for many years, so St Ann’s was a place she’d definitely have told people about.
“I grew up in Cheadle Hulme and was involved with the church youth group on Swann Lane which quite often did things for the hospice – every year we would go carol singing to raise funds.
“The palliative care mum received at Heald Green was superb.
“They made those final weeks of her life bearable because her cancer was fairly horrendous and we’ll also never forget the way they supported us as a family and made us feel welcome.
“It’s a remarkable place.”
Smith Goodfellow also have a professional link with St Ann’s, with the Stockport-based construction PR firm spreading the word about the exciting new hospice building which is being planned.
Other employees participating are Cathy’s husband and co-owner Paul Barlow, Jen’s husband Dave Heil, Kelly Oldham, Jodie Affleck, Daisy Dicker, James Gee, Hayley Mayer and Emily Kehoe, along with Luna, the office dog.
The moonlit walk costs £21 for a standard adult entry, or £10 each for a group of four or more – come along and join Luna and the Smith Goodfellow team.
For those unable to make it, a virtual walk is also available.
For more details visit www.mmwalk.org.uk, email events@sah.org.uk, or call 0161 498 3631.