Around 700 Teessiders lit up the streets on Saturday (March 22nd) to raise vital funds for terminally ill people in the region.
Over £52,000 has been raised so far by people taking part in the Teesside Hospice Midnight Walk, with participants donning head boppers and walking 11km from Redcar to Marske and back in aid of the charity – and sponsorship money is still to come in from many walkers.
“We’re so grateful for all of the support for our Midnight Walk, from those who participated to our wonderful volunteers and staff team that made it happen,” said Kyla de Lehenstein Collins, Director of Income Generation at Teesside Hospice.
“Our costs continue to grow, with the current total needed to run our services now at £6.5 million per year. That’s almost £18,000 a day required to help people with terminal illnesses in Teesside – and only 25% of that comes from statutory funding, the rest we need to raise ourselves with the help of donors and fundraising events like our Midnight Walk.”
Teesside Hospice, which is based in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, supports more than 3,000 local people per year, with the aim of helping individuals with a terminal illness to live as well as possible, for as long as possible.
Many people took part in the Midnight Walk in memory of loved ones who have used the Hospice’s services, to remember them and raise funds for others in need.
“The money raised by these amazing participants will make a huge difference to our patients and provide a vital injection to our services, which include our In-Patient Unit, Lymphoedema Clinic and wellbeing and counselling services,” Kyla continued
“By taking part in events like our Midnight Walk, you’re allowing local people to die with dignity and care, and receive the specialist palliative care they want and need at the end of their lives.
“As an example, £100 can provide four hours of expert nursing care, ensuring comfort and personal support for our patients in our 10-bed Inpatient Unit (IPU); £250 can help grieving children and young people throughout the year and provide them with essential tools; £1,000 can fund 40 hours of specialist nursing in our IPU, delivering compassionate, person-centred care.
“We’re on a mission to ensure local people get the very best care at the end of life – and our Midnight Walkers have played a vital role in that. We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who took part in the Midnight Walk – we’ll see you again next year!
“In the meantime, please continue to do what you can to support your local hospice.”
You can still sponsor or donate to the Midnight Walk by visiting www.justgiving.com/campaign/midnightwalk2025.
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