Hope House at 21: Generosity is what keeps hope alive

And as we recall the precious early days of Hope House, we have the chance to marvel at how far the children's respite hospice has come since then.

But Hope House never considers itself as having 'arrived' and then sitting back on its laurels.

There is an ongoing aim for excellence in care, comfort and commitment for the life-limited children who stay there, maybe frequently, over the years.

And anything which can improve that becomes a worthy aim for the dedicated staff and for fundraisers.

It is a view shared, of course, by those involved with raising money and encouraging and supporting volunteers, as well as the amazing folk who year by year raise cash by various events or generously donating.

Are you raising money for Hope House or have a story to tell about the hospice?

Shirley Tart would love to hear from you. You can email her at shirleyhopehouse@shropshirestar.co.uk and if you have a favourite picture we may be able to use, send us that as well.

Hope House needs about £7 million a year to fund the hospices at Morda and Ty Gobaith in Conwy, which is a serious sum. But remember, as with all our thousands of charities, without the money, there would be no services at all.

It buys hope, comfort and makes what seems to be the impossible, possible.

So what of those responsible for generating and motivating the rest of us to chip in and help out?

At Hope House, one of the best people to talk to about that is fundraising manager Vanessa Thomas, who has been part of the Hope House story for many years.

She has shaken more tins than she can care to remember and taken part in all manner of weird and wonderful stunts as part of the effort to raise the money needed to keep the hospice running.

There's never a dull day when it comes to folk fundraising for Hope House, and here are just some of the challenging, fun, inspiring and delightful examples:

• Staff at Phillips Chartered Accountants in Telford challenged themselves to help terminally ill children by signing up to the Hope House Business Challenge. The team was given £50 and challenged to grow it by using their ingenuity and entrepreneurship. From a number of fundraising activities including a big family Fun Day and a Christmas Networking Coffee Morning, the team turned their £50 into the fantastic sum of £1,721.54. Their enthusiasm for fundraising has not ended there as director Neil Phillips is running the Shrewsbury Half Marathon this year for the hospice.

• Meanwhile, the Hope House Hospice big birthday weekend is at the end of June with a sell-out ball on the 25th and a bumper children’s party a week or so before on the Sunday – both hosted by Clive and Tracey Knowles at the British Ironworks near Oswestry. Graham and Pat Reeves from Wem, and James and Amanda Keay from Shrewsbury, have all chipped in to help stage the birthday ball. More on the big weekend later.

• The annual Hope House Cycle Challenge is on August 7, setting off from the hospice in Morda for a 56-mile or 72-mile cycle ride going up a few hills and down a few mountains en route to Lake Vyrnwy or Lake Bala. Cyclists will be treated to a snack stop at a halfway feed station and a delicious home-made feast of cakes and savouries at the end. You can register for the early bird price of £25, while if you register on the day entry will be £35. To join Team Hope House visit www.hopehouse.org.uk/what’son and chose your event. Or call the fundraising office on (01691) 671671.

• On April 16, Shrewsbury Roman Catholic Cathedral hosts its first ever performance of Handel’s Messiah. Renowned chamber choir, Midlands Chorale, with musical director and conductor Daniel Galbraith, is set to delight local audiences. Dave Hewetson, grandad of one of the children who visits Hope House, is organising what promises to be a lovely evening to raise funds for the hospice. Call (01743) 366933 for details.[/breakout]

Vanessa and her fundraising colleagues tell the story day after day of the boundless goodness of people in Shropshire and surrounding counties.

She said: "We always say that we start every year on January 1 knowing that we need to raise millions of pounds to keep the door open. And it is the goodness of our people who are ready to and want to help.

"We have thousands of people raising money every year who are absolutely amazing.

"The help we get from government, the NHS and so on provides funds for about a month. So for 11 months we rely on fundraising from the general public and they have never let us down.

"Every year, we manage to continue and not have to cut services. This is purely down to the generosity of local people."

Indeed, services have been expanded to further meet the needs of children and families who need them most.

And Vanessa has seen at first-hand so many events and ideas which have contributed towards those funds and, indeed, she collects many of the resulting cheques. Each one, large or modest, is valued for all it represents from so many caring folk.

On this 21st birthday, the hospice hopes that all their many friends will celebrate with them, join in events and make the year one to truly remember.

"It is hard work, but thanks to them and all they do for the children, so worthwhile," Vanessa said.