Students raise over £2000 for hospice

Springhill Hospice

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Students on the ‘Certificate in Administration’ course at Hopwood Hall College have been busy holding a number of fundraising events and activities to raise money for the Springhill Hospice in Rochdale.

The Hospice opened in 1989, and provides Specialist Palliative Care for people with life-limiting illness throughout Rochdale and surrounding areas; the Hospice is an independent charitable organisation and relies on voluntary contributions in order to keep the doors open. The work that the students have done is therefore highly-valued by the Hospice.

The College has had a relationship with the Hospice going back some years, as tutor Yvonne Warburton explains, “At the start of each academic year, we take students on a visit to the Hospice, where they are given a guided tour with a presentation from one of the fundraising team. After discovering that the day to day costs of running the Hospice amounted to over £5,000, the students are encouraged to raise money for them. One of the modules the students have to complete as part of their course requires them to prove they can actively perform well as part of a team and these activities give them the accreditation they need to achieve success.”

This year’s students got extremely busy and organised a host of interesting events including a Christmas stall, a Business Lunch for their work experience providers where a raffle was held to raise funds, ‘Name the Teddy’, ‘Name the Bunny’, an Easter stall, tombolas, bag packing on Easter Saturday at Morrisons in Heywood and a raffle for College staff, students and friends and family.

In total they raised a fantastic £2,380 which they presented to the Chief Executive, Mrs Christine Webb in June; as a ‘thank you’, the Hospice awarded the College with a leaf on the Tree of Life at a presentation ceremony last year which is displayed in the Reception Area of the Hospice.

Yvonne feels that the relationship is also great for the students, “Our relationship with the Hospice has grown throughout the years and last year they agreed to take a student on work experience. We are dedicated to continue with these activities as the staff and the students feel this is a worthwhile cause for the people in the local community.

The students gain life skills and an understanding of the role of the Hospice and the reliance the Hospice places on fundraising locally. They also have an opportunity of volunteering to give their free time to support in any way they can to the work carried out there. Hopefully once they leave college they will be able to pass on what they have learnt to the outside world.”