Surrey hospice: "Christmas is such a natural time for giving"
The Sam Beare and Woking hospice say they want fundraising to be fun, accessible and innovative over the Christmas period
A Surrey hospice has told us they want fundraising to be fun, accessible and innovative as they look to draw in funds which they describe as vital over the festive period.
Each year the Woking and Sam Beare hospice have to raise around £8,000,000 in order to keep operating the way they do.
Currently they are asking local primary schools to get involved in their reindeer race. An event which involves school children building part of a reindeer costume and being sponsored to run laps of a play ground.
Lucy McNally, who is part of the income generation team, says fun should be a key aspect of fundraising
"We're trying to come up with as many fun, innovative, attention grabbing, but also something for everybody. It should be really fun, but also really easy to take part in something and support your local Hospice."
Throughout the lead-up to Christmas the hospice have put on several events, Lucy told us the festive period provides a great opportunity to secure much needed funds
"I think Christmas is such a is such a natural time for giving. I think people are feeling really charitably minded. I think we're all aware of how lucky we are and how the gift giving extends beyond our immediate family and friends"
Lucy also spoke about using events such as the reindeer race to hopefully encourage a charitable mentality in people from an early age
"It's so important to instil that charitable attitude at such a young age. And this is a great way of doing it whilst also having a really great time. And that's that that underpins so much of what we do as a Hospice.
We want people to have a lovely time while they're supporting us."