Charity News

St Michael’s Hospice is in the frame to receive almost £9,000 following an online art auction. More than 250 mini masterpieces went under the hammer during Postcards from Life, an annual fundraiser for the Bartestree-based Hospice. Each year, some of the region’s best artists produce postcard-sized art which is auctioned off through Leominster-based Brightwells’ website. They do this completely free of charge, donating their time and effort in producing these one-off works of art to support of St Michael’s. Almost 2,800 bids were placed during the latest auction, with the most successful lot being Valerie Whittaker’s entry which sold for £305. The mixed media on cotton paper was called ‘They took some honey’, which was inspired by the famous Edward Lear poem ‘The Owl and the Pussy-Cat’. “We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to bid on the wonderful array of art during this year’s Postcards from Life,” said the Hospice’s Chief Executive, Mike Keel. “Those successful bidders have secured themselves artwork which will brighten any room. “At the same time, their generosity is helping families in our community who are living with a terminal illness. “We hope that every time our supporters glance up at their artwork, they’ll be reminded of how much they’ve helped their Hospice. “As always we’re incredibly grateful to the artists for producing such fabulous work, and to Brightwells for their support in hosting the online bidding platform.”

Artist Michael Dent

A Bromsgrove law firm is set to support a local hospice for the next 12 months as part of a new charity partnership. Staff at mfg Solicitors have voted for Primrose Hospice to be its local charity for the next year with a variety of events planned to support fundraising for people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families and loved ones. The new link-up kicked off with a fun ‘Primrose Day’ event at the firm’s High Street office which saw staff raising £230 by selling homemade cupcakes and hosting a raffle – all based on a Primrose Hospice yellow theme. Abi Coulson, Corporate Fundraiser from Primrose Hospice, said: “We really were delighted when we heard we had been chosen by mfg’s staff in Bromsgrove. “The team at mfg are already working hard to help us raise much-needed funds and I was also pleased to attend the recent Primrose Day to give a little more insight into what we do and how fundraising money is spent. We can’t thank everyone at the firm enough and look forward to getting involved in all the fantastic ideas they have planned.” Throughout the year staff at mfg Solicitors will be hosting a wide range of events including dress down days, a netball tournament, regular raffles and book sales to raise money. A variety of Christmas events were also planned during the festive season, which included donations of chocolate selection boxes. The charity relies heavily on voluntary donations. It offers day therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, alongside its Family Support Centre which provides bereavement and counselling support to families, loved ones and children in the local community.

The Little Princess Trust is a charity based in the centre of Hereford that provides real hair wigs for children and younger people undergoing cancer treatment where they are experiencing the devastating effects of losing their hair. As a result they have now supplied over 8,000 wigs and have invested around £5m into ground breaking childhood cancer research. The charity is based at the recently launched Hannah Tarplee building in Hereford City Centre. When they were designing the Hannah Tarplee building they wanted to make sure that the power they use is renewable and reduces their impact on the environment. Phil Brace, the CEO at Little Princess Trust approached Caplor Energy for advice and support in installing a suitable solar PV system that would not only meet their climate concerns, but also provide the necessary financial benefits for the charity. Caplor Energy are very proud to be working with The Little Princess Trust, not just because of the valuable work they do for young cancer sufferers throughout the UK, but also because they can help to reduce the charity’s carbon footprint whilst saving money on their energy bills. The team at Caplor Energy are passionate advocates of renewable energy and now have many years’ experience of specialising in the design, installation and maintenance of a wide range of commercial renewable energy systems across England and Wales, helping businesses achieve their own environmental goals whilst saving money on energy costs and providing excellent returns on investment.