Theme: Fundraising

Alex Stubbs is buzzing ahead of his upcoming fundraiser in aid of St Ann’s Hospice where he will be conducting a two-hour drum solo dressed as the Manchester bee! 

Alex will be taking to the Emirates Stadium Cricket Ground in Old Trafford for the two-hour drum solo. 

The drum solo will take place from 12pm on July 17th and will end at 2pm. 

Alex is a life-long drummer and has played in several bands over the years, including Heald Green band, Northern Uproar. 

Kai Spencer (8), has been putting in a tireless effort to make and sell hundreds of loom bands in aid of St Ann’s Hospice. 

The schoolboy from Greater Manchester is supporting the hospice as his dad, Craig spent the last seven weeks of his life at St Ann’s in Little Hulton. He has now raised over £1,500 for the charity. 

Loom bands are bracelets made from colourful rubber or silicone bands. 

According to Kai’s mum, Sarah, Kai has always had a love for making loom bands. 

“It’s just something he enjoys doing,” she said. “He’s quite creative and crafty. He even taught a few people how to make them, including his dad, and his grandma as well.” 

Kai will happily sit for hours, making the loom bands, and one day he said he would like to sell them to make money for St Ann’s. So, he started selling a band for £1. 

According to Sarah and Kai’s Just Giving page, some people have donated up to £150 for one loom band.  

“I reckon about £700 has come from large donations, and he’s raised the rest by selling hundreds of loom bands,” Sarah said. 

“He’s still got hundreds more that he could sell. He’s gotten so good at it, it takes him about two minutes now to make one loom band.” 

According to Sarah, Kai wanted to raise money for St Ann’s because he appreciated the care his dad, and his family received while they were at the hospice. 

“He simply wants to make sure that other children get the same experience that he had while going through a difficult time,” she added. 

You can donate to Kai’s cause by visiting his Just Giving page, here. 

Anna-Clare Monk’s is amping up support for her upcoming charity concert which returns for its fourth year to Bramhall in aid of St Ann’s Hospice.  

The concert will be held in St Michael all Angels’ Church in Bramhall on Wednesday, June 25 at 7.30pm.  

International opera singer Anna-Clare initially started fundraising for St Ann’s Hospice over 12 years ago. Her dad, Alistair, was cared for at the hospice over a period of three months the year prior, and she saw this as a way of giving something back to the hospice. 

“I was performing more back then but over the years my teaching has taken over. As my student numbers increased I thought it would be nice to give these talented singers an opportunity to perform. It made perfect sense to fundraise for St Ann’s at the same time.  

“In the concert I perform with my students, singing popular musical theatre songs with a little bit of opera. The event is growing every year and last year we were fortunate to have a trustee from the hospice in attendance. It’s a truly special evening!” 

Preparations for the concert are going well, having with weekly rehearsals with her students. As part of the concert this year she and her students will be performing a medley of songs from the Sound of Music- audience participation is optional but encouraged!!  

There will also be wine, beer, soft drinks and refreshments on the night and the concert will run from 7.30- 9pm.  

Tickets are £10 and are available on the door. Doors open 7pm. All profits from the evening will be donated to the Hospice. 

Get ready, music fans!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Manchester Central, we are thrilled to be able to offer you this amazing opportunity to win two tickets to see Oasis this July.

Imagine being there, experiencing the magic live at Heaton Park. This is your chance!

Entry to this exclusive raffle opens on Friday 13th June and closes sharply on Monday 23rd June at 11:55pm. Don’t miss out!

How to Enter

Text OASISWIN to 70215

It’s super easy to enter this fantastic prize draw! Simply text OASISWIN to 70215.

Your text message will cost your standard network message charge.

After sending, you’ll receive a free bounce-back message from 70215 with clear instructions on how to complete your entry and the option to make a donation to support St Ann’s Hospice. Texts cost the chosen donation amount plus one standard network rate message. Every donation helps us continue our vital work!

Important Information

Please ensure you spell the keyword correctly and send your text message to the correct short code within the specified prize draw period. If your short code is invalid, or if your text message is received outside the open period, you will not receive a bounce-back message.

This prize draw is open to all residents of the UK. (Please note: the text service to enter the prize draw does not include Channel Islands or Isle of Man mobile networks.) Participants must be 18 or over.

The lucky winner will be selected at random and contacted directly by St Ann’s Hospice via telephone on June 24th.

This prize draw is in no way affiliated with SJM Concerts.

Terms and Conditions
OASIS Heaton Park Tickets terms and conditions

Good luck! We’re rooting for you!

The St Ann’s Hospice Forget-me-not services held each summer provide an opportunity for both families and patients to come together and reflect.   

Rehab Assistant Practitioner at St Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton, Rachel Bridge attended one of the Forget Me Not services last year.   

Rachel says as a staff member at St Ann’s Hospice, supporting families is “a crucial part of our role day to day”.   

“It’s about building relationships with patients and their families, and the families knowing that if they need anything, they can just ask with ease   

“It’s about consistency and being able to be there for families and gauging what kind of support they need. It could be offering someone a cup of tea and a chat or offering time to talk about their loved ones or how they are feeling.  

According to Rachel, the Forget-me-not services are needed to allow families to reconnect with St Ann’s following the passing of a loved one.   

“These services are often part of the grieving process for families. Having gone through that grieving process myself, it was important to be able to have a place to reflect. I still go to a remembrance service every year, and it’s a time to remember and reconnect with those who looked after my mum.  

St Ann’s Hospice has launched its Forget-me-not appeal where individuals can dedicate a forget-me-not to a loved one in the Memory Meadow via the St Ann’s website.   

The two St Ann’s Hospice Forget Me Not services will take place at the Heald Green and Little Hulton hospices on Saturday, June 14. The first will take place at Little Hulton at 10am with the Heald Green service commencing at 2pm.

To learn more about the appeal or to dedicate a flower in memory of a loved one in our online Memory Meadow, click here.

St Ann’s Forget Me Not services return this Saturday, June 14 and offer an opportunity for reflection and celebration of the lives of loved ones. 

My name is Sam, and I have been supporting St Ann’s Hospice since 2023, when my mum, Denise died here following a diagnosis of terminal cancer. 

My mum knew she didn’t want to die at home, she knew she wanted to go to a hospice, and in the end she chose St Ann’s, a charity she had placed in her Will. 

Mum didn’t last long at St Ann’s, only around six days. Her symptoms got so bad that she had to have a nurse with her around the clock to help manage them. 

The thing that stood out to me at that time was the nurses wanted to know all about her, they wanted to see photos of her. It just made such a difference that they really cared about her. 

When I was with mum at her bedside, I promised her that I would do whatever I could to raise money for St Ann’s to make sure that other people got the same care that we received. 

Even after she passed, St Ann’s helped me. They provided me with bereavement support and further counselling. 

I ran into a doctor from the Heald Green hospice who cared for her earlier this year. It’s been two years and he remembered her name, and which room she was in. I think that just shows the kind of place St Ann’s is. 

Having that support at the end of your life is so necessary. It takes stress off your shoulders knowing there are medical professionals there when you feel panicked.  

Knowing someone is always there, day and night to help you, having the space to be with mum when she died was everything.  

Please join me in supporting this year’s St Ann’s Forget Me Not appeal, every donation makes such a difference in the lives of families such as mine and it helps ensure patients will continue to receive the very best care at St Ann’s for years to come. 

To learn more about the appeal or to dedicate a flower in memory of a loved one in our online Memory Meadow, click here.

Vivienne’s husband Trev died in the care of St Ann’s in December and she is now donating his impressive Lego collection to the hospice as her way of giving back.

Trev’s extensive collection consists of dozens of models built over many years, including one of Old Trafford, the Titanic, and many more.

According to Vivienne, Trev fell back in love with Lego building when he was recovering from his initial bout with cancer of the head and neck which was caught early. He used to build Lego sets as a child.

“Up until then he would distract himself by completing jigsaws – it seemed almost pointless to spend hours on something to break it up and put it back in the box,” Vivienne said.

Click the Gallery above to view videos of Trevor’s Lego room.

Trev’s cancer returned in his lung in October 2020 and he completed a month of radiotherapy in December 2020. It was during this treatment that the Millennium Falcon model was completed.

He recovered again and life went on and according to Vivienne there was a lull in model construction from March 2021 until April 2023.

“By this time most rooms in the house had a Lego model in them. Everything from a Concorde on the coffee table, the Batcave in the office and an Aston Martin DB5 on top of the freezer,” Vivienne said.

In April 2023 Trev’s cancer had returned once again.

“While he was waiting to see if he was eligible for a clinical trial at the Christie, we made the decision to convert a garage into a Lego room.,” Vivienne said.

“During the clinical trial treatment, the Lego room took shape, trips to Ikea for robust shelving, despite protests from me. Trev painted the walls but did allow builders to lay the flooring.

“Boxes that contained the larger Lego models were covered with material and used as display stands,” she added.

In December 2023 Trev was taken off the trial as one of his tumours had grown outside the margins that the trial would allow so he was placed onto the conventional chemo infusions in January 2024.

“The Lego room still grew with some smaller easier models, a telephone box, a lighthouse, and more,” Vivienne said.

“In July 2024 we visited a Lego fair in Manchester where Trev purchased the Taj Mahal. This had been on his wish list but was difficult to find as it had been discontinued. Home it came and was the last model he completed in August 2024.

“Lego provided an excellent distraction not just for Trev but when friends came to visit, some with children, the construction of the Titanic or watching the light in the lighthouse flash or taking the pyramid apart was a far better topic of conversation than how the side effects of chemo had affected him or the balancing act of managing medication,” she added.

Vivienne says the decision to let the models go to auction was “not an easy one”.

“I have kept a couple of models for myself, but this is our way of giving something back to the Hospice.

“I learned that when Trev was in for what turned out to be his last 6 days at St Ann’s that they needed to raise £20,000 a day to continue providing care.

“Trev’s life ended in a pain free restful and comfortable environment where I was allowed to be his wife not his carer. That was a privilege and priceless to me. I do fear that there may be lots of Viv and Trev’s that may not have that dignified end unless sufficient funding is maintained hence why the monies raised from the auctioning of the Lego models will go to St Ann’s Hospice,” she added.