Spreading festive cheer for Rowcroft
During recent weeks, more than 6000 children from 34 schools and nurseries across South Devon have taken part in Rowcroft Hospice’s Rudolph Run, raising thousands of pounds for the hospice by donning their antlers and participating in a sponsored run or walk. Now in its second year, The Rudolph Run offers schools the perfect chance to celebrate the festive season in style, with each school setting the time, date, location and distance of their own event.
A fantastic achievement
Stover Preparatory School raised over £2000 for the hospice through the Rudolph Run. Head of the school Ben Noble said:
“It was lovely to see all of our pupils working so hard (and running so fast in antlers and red noses) to raise money for such a worthy local charity, close to the hearts of many parents and staff, and having great fun in the process.”
Hetty Prince (8), a year 4 pupil at the school who took part in the event, said:
“It was fun to do something to help others and I enjoyed running around in antlers with my friends. And we raised more than £2000 too!”
A magical way to support the hospice
Rowcroft is delighted with the success of the event, with initial analysis showing over £7000 raised so far with funds still pouring in. Rowcroft’s Events Manager Alexia Croft said:
“The Rudolph Run is a brilliant annual event that gives us the opportunity to introduce school children to the concept of hospice care in an age-appropriate way, and we’ve been blown away by the fantastic support of schools and nurseries throughout the region. All the children and staff have been wonderful and it was magical to see everyone having such a fabulous time on their runs! We’re so grateful to everyone for taking part as every penny raised in sponsorship will go to fund expert end-of-life care for patients and their loved ones across South Devon, and our care is needed now more than ever. We’d also like to thank our event sponsors China Blue for their incredible support.”
Harriet Judge, Marketing Manager at China Blue said:
“China Blue was delighted to sponsor the Rowcroft Rudolph Run – a fun and festive event involving our local community – to help enable the amazing work of such an important charity.”
As a charity, Rowcroft Hospice provides specialist end-of-life nursing care, advice and support to patients and their loved ones across South Devon, from Dartmouth to Dawlish and up onto Dartmoor. With the need in the local community increasing, the hospice is experiencing an escalating demand for its services. While Rowcroft has a small Inpatient Unit in Torquay, around 80% of the hospice’s patients are cared for in their own homes as per their wishes.