For our Spotlight feature this month, it’s not just one person who has done something amazing that we’re focusing on, but an entire school.
Students at de Stafford School, Caterham, took part in a week-long fundraising event in May, which raised more than £2,000 for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices. The charity supports around 500 infants and young people with life-limiting conditions, as well as their relatives. It is of particular importance to de Stafford School, as learning support assistant Holly Poole’s daughter, Elsie, was cared for by them.
Each day of the Charity Week was dedicated to a different activity, with Year 7 students kicking off the first day with a bake sale. This was followed by an energetic lip syncing battle and Just Dance competition for the Year 8 students, with further activities during the week including a football tournament, an ice pop sale and a gift sale, where staff and students donated handcrafted items to be sold. The week’s grand finale took the form of a cake sale and ‘massaoke’ event where the entire school community came together to sing.
A post on the de Stafford website celebrated the school’s achievement:
“Students went above and beyond, providing touching and thoughtful contributions such as hand-crocheted gifts and pocket money donations…
This successful event raised £2,364 and was thoroughly enjoyed by staff and students, all commented on how much fun they had and how much sense of community it had given them!”
Shooting Star Children’s Hospices are in continual need of financial support. As well as the hospice care, their services also include therapy and counselling for the relatives of somebody with a life-limiting condition, bereavement cafe sessions and a family support phone line available from Monday to Friday. Only 30% of their funding comes from the government, so the charity relies heavily on donations from the public in order to provide care and symptom management for those who need it.
“Shooting Star Children’s Hospices supports families who have a baby, child or young person with a life-limiting condition, or who have been bereaved, across Surrey, south-west London and north-west London,” says Beverley Danckert, community fundraising manager.
“We support families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional, and medical care, that is free of charge to families.
She continues: “It costs £10 million a year to run Shooting Star… so without incredible supporters like de Stafford School, we simply couldn’t provide our vital care. Their fundraising will help us make every moment count for children and their families, now and in the future.”
You can donate to Shooting Star Children’s Hospices here.
To nominate somebody for our Spotlight feature, email newsdesk@tandridgeindependent.com.
