In memory of Terry
For Jo Challinor and her family , being the face of the St Giles Christmas Raffle was just the first step in supporting the hospice after her dad Terry Clarke was cared for at Whittington .
Jo , mum Carole and sister Lisa had already raised thousands in memory of Terry through a charity cricket match , but decided to add even more to their total by sharing their story and selling dozens of raffle tickets .
Keen sportsman Terry was diagnosed with bladder cancer in January 2014 and despite extensive treatment , the cancer returned and late in 2016 the family were told nothing could be done . Terry spent the last six weeks of his life at St Giles in Whittington and Jo couldn ’ t thank the hospice staff enough for the support the whole family received .
“ Dad felt so comfortable in the hospice – he loved the nurses and they worked hard to keep his pain under control and to keep him comfortable .”
“ In his last few days , Dad decided he wanted to go home , even if it was just for a night , and the nurses did everything to help us do that .”
“ The next day it was obvious that Dad was in a lot of pain so we took him back to the hospice and straightaway he relaxed . We stayed with him from then until he died , just a short time before Christmas .”
“ He was our hero and a true fighter until the end and we are so glad we could be there for him . We will never forget the support our family received from St Giles and every pound raised from the raffle goes to support people in the same situation , so we were delighted to spread the word and sell tickets .”
Lottery Manager Alison Jerram said , “ Raffles are a key part of our fundraising , as well as giving people a chance to win some amazing prizes . Our Christmas Raffle raised more than £ 88,000 which helps us support local people , like Terry , living with potentially terminal illnesses .”
We are so grateful to Jo and her family for their support , along with all the other people who buy and sell tickets to family and friends to support the hospice .
8,000 reasons to buy a ticket !
We really appreciate the support we get for our St Giles raffles – thank you to all of you who buy tickets and sell tickets for us . Our raffles bring in much needed funds for the hospice so that we can carry on supporting people in our community .
Of course there ’ s another great reason to buy raffle tickets . In fact there are often thousands of good reasons , as the lucky winner of our Christmas Raffle , Royston Urwin from Bloxwich , found out .
Royston was surprised and delighted when he got the call to say he ’ d won the £ 8,000 top prize . “ It was a real shock – I play to support the hospice , but you never expect to win ,” he said . “ My family have received care from St Giles Walsall in the past , which is one of the reasons why I made the decision to support such a valuable local charity . I will be sharing my good fortune with my wife , Shirley , and will make a donation back to the hospice to help support St Giles ’ work .”
We ’ d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who gets behind our raffle – your amazing support makes a difference to every one of the families we care for . Tickets for our Summer Raffle will be sent in the post in the next few weeks and are on sale online now at www . stgileshospice . com / raffle
Summer Raffle 2018
£ 12,000 worth of prizes to be won including £ 8,000 or a brand new Kia Picanto !
Please gamble responsibly www . begambleaware . org
Tickets
£ 1
www . stgileshospice . com / raffle 15
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