A small team of fundraisers from West Cumbria are aiming to raise £15,000 for local charities.
Maria Jolly and the team have been raising money since lockdown in 2020 when they originally set up to help charities through a difficult time.
They have continued to fundraise raising thousands of pounds over the years and donating it to charities including The British Heart Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Society and Hospice at Home West Cumbria.
The hospice has received over £8,000 since 2021.
The team now wants to raise £15,000 by the end of 2024, which will be split between charities with Hospice at Home receiving £5,000.
To help them reach their target they have taken on activities, including charity nights in the Trades Hall in Workington, bingo nights every other week in The Crafty Workshop in Workington – which attracts over 40 people, and having stalls at local community events.
They most recently attended Workington’s Party in the Park in July in Vulcan Park where they raised £1,000 to go towards their target for Hospice at Home West Cumbria. They did this with the help from ETL Gym, which donated a bike for the team to use throughout the day, where they gained sponsorship for riding the bike for the duration of the event.
Maria said: ‘’Raising money for charities is something that we all enjoy, we understand during the current times people don’t have as much to give but the services Hospice at Home West Cumbria provide are vital to our community so we like to help where we can, and our plan is to present them with another £5,000 cheque by the end of 2024.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Lesley Edmondson from The Crafty Workshop in Workington, Howard Sandham, W Gourley Pharmacy, Haigh’s Butchers, Carla and Michael Quirk from ETL, my niece Lily McGlasson who is only seven years old and loves to help out, and every individual and business who has helped and supported the team to raise the funds, we couldn’t have done it without you all.’’
Gemma Bell, income generation team leader at Hospice at Home West Cumbria, said: “We are so grateful to Maria, the fundraisers and everyone in the community who gets involved and helps to raise funds for our charity.
“Speaking to Maria over the past few years her passion to make a difference is so inspiring and the team really are making a difference, every penny raised helps to support families and patients in West Cumbria when they are going through the most difficult of times.”
