Werrington’s Holli raises staggering £11k to mark anniversary of mum’s passing at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall

To mark the 20th anniversary of her mum’s passing, Holli, from Werrington in Peterborough, decided to raise as much money as she could for the hospice in a year. That date came and went – and Holli carried on fundraising. In fact, she has never stopped.

With plans afoot for further fundraising challenges this year Holli has raised an incredible £11,624 for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice so far.

“My mum was the kindest person I knew and would do anything for anyone,” said Holli, who works as a business analyst for The BGL Group. “She always put me and my sisters Kayley and Jayde first. Her number one priority was to make sure we were okay.

“She was the mum who was always at our ballet shows and competitions doing not only our hair but all of the other kids’ hair too. We always had the best homemade birthday cakes and the neatest hair because nothing was too much trouble for my mum.

“In July 1998 when I was 12 years old my mum passed away at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice. I just remember the nurses and staff being absolutely amazing. They really do everything they possibly can to make the patients and family members feel comfortable and at ease at some of the hardest points of their lives.

“When you are inside the hospice you get a real feeling of care and warmth. If I had to describe Thorpe Hall in three words it would be caring, amazing and calm. At the worst time of your life it is the best place you can be. There will always be a big place in my heart for Thorpe Hall as it is where I have the last memories of my mum.”

As the 20 year anniversary of her mum’s passing approached Holli decided she did not just want it to pass by. In August 2017 she decided to raise as much money as she could for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice by July 2018 to celebrate the anniversary.

To kick-start her fundraising Holli ran Peterborough’s Great Eastern Run half marathon in October 2017 with her best friends Gemma Griffiths and Lisa Cutforth.

She also ran a tuck shop and bake sales at BGL, as well as quiz nights at The Ploughman in Werrington where she works part-time as a member of the bar staff.

By July 2018, the date of her mum’s 20 year anniversary, Holli had raised £5,000 for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice but in her own words “just had to carry on!”

She trained and fundraised to run the Cambridge Half Marathon in March 2019 with her sister Kayley Moses and best friend Lisa. Unfortunately she had to drop out of the run due to injury but still fundraised.

She also held an Easter coffee morning and bake sale at The Ploughman and plans to do more fundraising later this year by taking part in the Great Eastern Run in October and by holding a summer quiz.

“To date I have raised £11,624 for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice,” said Holli. “I want to continue to raise as much as I can.

“I feel that if my fundraising efforts in mum’s memory are just a small percentage of the efforts she put into us growing up as children, then I’m doing something right. I would like to hope she’d be extremely proud. I just hope that this money can help to continue the amazing support and care that the hospice currently gives.

“I feel very proud that I can use my energy and skills to arrange events and fundraising activities in memory of my mum knowing that the money I am raising is helping other people and families going through what we all went through as a family.

“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me, whether this is through sponsorship, attending my events, buying raffle tickets, baking or just general support.”

Nilesh Patel, senior community fundraiser at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice, said: “Thank you so much to Holli for all the support she has given our hospice. Our expert and compassionate palliative care and support is free of charge to everyone who needs it, however, we need to raise £2.4 million this year to be able to carry on providing it.

“That is why the support of local people like Holli is so important – her fantastic fundraising will help us to be there when it matters for our patients and their families.”

You can support Holli through her Much Loved page: https://christine-posnett.muchloved.com/.

To find out more about fundraising for Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice, contact the hospice’s fundraising team on 01733 225 999 or [email protected].