A St Catherine’s Hospice supporter is bringing family and friends together to host her very own Yellow Day fundraiser at home this summer, in memory of her beloved mum.
Victoria Hornby is looking forward to having a St Catherine’s garden party in support of the charity which cared for her mum Elaine – and is urging others to get behind the cause by throwing their own yellow-themed events in their communities.
The Lostock Hall hospice usually welcomes families into St Catherine’s Park for its annual Yellow Day garden fete, when the grounds are decorated with poignant yellow ribbon tributes.
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The event is unable to go ahead this year due to the pandemic, and Victoria is one of the first supporters to sign up to host her own fundraising party, to help the charity continue its important work of providing specialist care for local people with life-shortening illnesses.
St Catherine’s has created brand new Yellow Day fundraising packs for families to host barbecues, picnics, afternoon teas, street parties or pop-up stalls at home, in their neighbourhood or workplace. People are also invited to make special Yellow Ribbon dedications in memory of loved ones.
Victoria said: “I’m really looking forward to hosting a St Catherine’s yellow event! It will be a great opportunity to get people together again after we’ve spent so much time apart, and all for such a worthy cause.
“I’m going to host an afternoon tea with a twist! It will be bake-off style and I’m also going to have a casino where bets placed will be used as donations to St Catherine’s, so my guests had better be ready to play their cards right and dabble in a little roulette.
“The hospice is very close to my heart as my mum was cared for there at the end of her life, and the memories we made during that time mean so much to me. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon tea for our last Mother’s Day together, which was really special.
“I’ll be honouring my amazing and much-missed mum with a Yellow Ribbon tribute. I will display my ribbon on the tree in my front garden and I’m going to ask friends and family to make their own personal dedications on the ribbons I’ll get with my fundraising event pack, which will be really meaningful and will go towards our donation to St Catherine’s.”
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Emma Jacovelli , Head of Community Engagement at the hospice, said: “We’re delighted that Victoria is so enthusiastic about hosting her very own Yellow Day for us this year! We’re really disappointed that we can’t go ahead with the event in our grounds due to the uncertainty of Covid restrictions, but we’re excited to hear everyone’s creative ideas for their own garden parties and get-togethers as we prepare to celebrate with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours following a very tough year.
“It will all be subject to government guidance, but we’re hopeful that people will find lots of new ways to have fun and ‘Go Yellow’ in their support for us this June, July and August. Our fundraising pack is filled with yellow table cloths, balloons, bunting, t-shirts and ribbons, and our friendly team is on hand to offer any tips and ideas to make everyone’s event a great success.
“St Catherine’s has continued to help patients experience quality of life at the hospice and in their own homes during the last 12 months, all whilst incurring additional costs for things such as PPE, and when many of our fundraising activities have been hit by the pandemic – such as our events, shops and café.
“There are still challenges ahead, but we simply wouldn’t be here without the continued support of our communities, and I’d like to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone for their incredible support of St Catherine’s during these difficult times.”
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