SobelltimesSpring 2015

The Newsletter for Supporters of Sobell House Hospice

www.sobellhospicecharity.org.uk

Oxford Moonlight StrollSaturday 11th July

Last year’s fantastic Oxford Moonlight

Stroll raised over £90,000 for Sobell House Hospice Charity!

This year, we want it to be a super (hero) experience for all our walkers as we try to smash that magic £100,000 barrier.

Is It a bIrd? Is It a plane? no, It’s the 2015 oxford MoonlIght stroll!

To register for the Oxford Moonlight Stroll, please visit www.sobellhospicecharity.org.uk, or call us on 01865 857007.

Last summer, we asked our supporters to ‘Go Yellow’ for the Hospice and we would be delighted to get people involved again this year from June to September. Here are some ideas to inspire you to get sunny and raise some money:

For those seeking adventure, or looking to get creative in the kitchen, you could:u Do a sponsored skydive, bungeejump or fun run dressed in yellow, or as your favourite yellow character (The Simpsons, Sponge Bob Squarepants, Pikachu)u Organise a yellow themed dinner party (or even host your own ‘come dine with me’ competition) where guests must all wear yellow, and the food would have a yellow theme

Brighten up the workplace by getting your colleagues to join you in going yellow by:

u Setting up a Yellow Card system for the day, where employees are shown a yellow card and fined £1 when caught doing predefined offencesu Having a non-uniform day (yellow clothing of course), in return for a small donationu Organise yellow themed competitions, such as: ‘Who can eat the most bananas or custard?’ or ‘How many yellow sweets in the jar?’

If you would like to organise a ‘Go Yellow’ event, please contact the Charity Office on 01865 857007, or email mail@sobellhospice.org.

Walk on the bright side and…go Yellow

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Corporate Fundraising Hedges Law raised around £2000 by taking part in the Oxford Fun Run and the Oxford Half marathon and other in-house fundraising. Oxford Private Care (OPC) is supporting us through internal events and has so far raised around £2000. Taylor & Francis chose Sobell as one of their charities and raised over £1200.

The committee of the Armourer Charity Fund at RAF Brize Norton have chosen Sobell House as their charity for 2015. They have some amazing and fun fundraising ideas and we are delighted to have them on board.

Essentra Components organised a hog roast and a soaking of managers with wet sponges. The management team also agreed that if £500 was raised, they would all do the ice bucket challenge. In the end £1280 was raised and a lot of fun was had!

Employees at the two Oxford based businesses, Siemens Magnet Technology and Siemens Molecular Imaging, have been supporting us throughout 2013 and 2014. Events such as bring & buy sales, sponsored cycle rides, cake sales and raffles received fantastic support from the employees and raised in excess of £17,000.

Managing Director, Craig Marshall said “Over the past 30 years Siemens Magnet Technology, a part of Siemens Healthcare, has supported many charities. When we select a charity to support, we look for one which is not only within the Healthcare sector but also one which offers our employees the opportunity to engage with the charity in a variety of meaningful ways. Thanks to the fundraising team, we have found that Sobell House ticked both boxes, which is why we extended our support for a second year during 2014.”

Thank you so much to the management and employees for all their enthusiasm and for being such a wonderful group to work with.

Marks & Spencer (Witney) have raised over £2000 from a variety of in-store events such as a sponsored cycle in the foyer, a Percy Pig Hunt, and a live mannequin window.

Would your business be interested in sponsoring a page of our newsletter? A donation of £200 covers the cost of printing one page. Your company details would be included on the foot of the page

and seen by over 8,500 readers. Please contact Kelly for further details.

Charity of the Year

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Inca have donated a further £1185.52 from their quarterly profits bringing their total to over £3600 in two years. A team from OpTek Systems did the Oxford Half Marathon and raised over £1100. A2 Dominion donated £195 from a quiz night; Dream Doors in Abingdon raised £142.11 from a cookery demonstration; Malmaison raised £63 from their Sobell cocktail; Highcroft made a donation of £800; Segais Hair Design donated £205 by keeping the salon open late and donating the extra proceeds.

Artemis Research Associates Limited, Seip, W G Powell and Mathews Comfort gave donations in lieu of sending Christmas cards; Elsevier and Structural Genomics Consortium raised £253 and £310 from Christmas raffles.

If you own, or work in a business and would like to help in any way, please contact Kelly on 01865 857066, or email kelly@sobellhospice.org.

Harley Davidson raised around £8500 from a Harley-Davidson Foundation Fund grant and other workplace fundraising.

Thank you to everyone who took time to vote for Sobell House in the Lloyds Community Fund campaign and the Salts Healthcare campaign. We were delighted to come first and third respectively in the voting and received £3000 from Lloyds Bank and £1600 from Salts Healthcare. We couldn’t have done it without your amazing support and all the votes!

OCDEM continued their amazing support by raising another £201 during their Christmas fundraising. As always their costumes were incredible!

Much is often written about how much it costs to run the Hospice, how much is raised through donations, legacies and fundraising, but one thing we cannot put a price on is how much time is generously given by our shop volunteers. It is quite literally priceless!

We have 8 shops and 2 warehouses, each of which has a paid manager supported by a team of volunteers. Our busy shops could not operate without these enthusiastic and committed people. Duties include sorting donations, steaming clothes, welcoming customers, arranging window displays, till work, and supporting each other – something for everyone!

If you would like to meet new people, learn new skills, have fun, support the Hospice and become part of this great team, then we would love to hear from you! Pop into one of our shops in Bicester, Bicester Megastore, Botley, Carterton, Headington, Kidlington, Little Clarendon Street (Oxford), Thame, Witney or Witney Warehouse and pick up an application form. Alternatively, email sobellshops@gmail.com or call 01993 709111.

Priceless!

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Active Fundraising

A little closer to home, it’s that time of year when our London Marathon runners are getting a little nervous in the run up to their own tour de London. Good luck to Louise, Jonathan, Becky, Damon, and Gary.

People have been running all over the world for Sobell over the last year and this year looks to be no different.

Back in November, elite athlete Craig Hopkins ran the New York Marathon (probably the biggest marathon in the world) in memory of his grandmother, Elsie, who passed away at the Hospice.

Having had his hopes of Commonwealth Games selection dashed by injury, Craig instead turned his sights to the Big Apple as he is based in the States. You can read all about his exploits on his blog at: http://craigohopkins.blogspot.co.uk/.

We would like to say a thank you to Craig and his supporters for raising over £1,000.

London, New York, Peckham - Marathoning all over the world for Sobell House!

If a marathon just isn’t hardcore enough for you, why not support Sobell House with an epic trek?On 5th and 6th of September, Global Adventure Challenges are running their Peak District ‘TrekFest’; a choice of 13, 27 or 54-mile routes through the glorious Peak District over 6-24 hours.

For more information, please visit: www.trekfest.org.uk

For more info on these challenges, please visit: www.actionchallenge.com/activities/treks-walks/uk-treks/100-km-challenge

For the really serious walkers amongst you, there is the Action Challenge Ultra Challenge Series 2015. These are walks of 25, 50 and 100km over a range of routes, including the Isle of Wight, London to Brighton, Grand Union Canal, London to Cambridge and the Thames Path, with a number of sponsorship options available.

Last year, our fundraiser Kev donned his lycra to test ride the Bike Oxford course and can officially confirm he loved it!

This year’s ride takes place on 13th September and offers routes of 20, 50 and 80 miles heading out into the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside.For more information, please visit www.bikeoxford.co.uk

Payment Option A – Minimum Sponsorship

Registration Fee + Minimum Sponsorship

54 mile - £50 + £440 per person

29/27 mile - £40 + £280 per person

13 mile - £30 + £120 per person

You pay the registration fee and in addition, you commit to raising the minimum sponsorship as shown above.

Payment Option B – Self-funding

Registration Fee + Challenge Balance

54 mile - £50 + £110 = Total Cost £160 per person

29/27 mile - £40 + £70 = Total Cost £110 per person

13 mile - £30 + £30 = Total Cost £60 per person

You pay the registration fee AND the challenge balance freeing you up to give all sponsorship raised to Sobell House.

A more Epic Challenge

Choose from two payment options:

Get Biking Oxford!

If you already have a place at London and would like to run for Sobell House, fancy a different 26.2 miles or further, want to ride your bicycle, or just want a chat about how you can get active for Sobell, please contact us on 01865 857012, or email kevin@sobellhospice.org.

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Katie Phipkin will be heading over to Barcelona on her own marathon challenge, and we wish her all the best too. You can sponsor her at: www.justgiving.com/Katie-Phipkin.

Many supporters threw themselves out of planes in 2014 to raise money for Sobell House. Here is Jessica Strange’s story:

“On 5th August, exactly 2 weeks after being admitted to Sobell House, my stepdads mum lost her battle with cancer and passed away. I visited the hospice a few times and my stepdad spent most days there, and as many nights as possible. I couldn’t get over the level of care that was provided considering I have had other family members in private care homes where the service didn’t begin to compare. The staff are dedicated, the grounds are lovely, and the facilities are outstanding. Mavis was definitely in the best place for her last days, and I wanted to give something back for everything they had done for us.

Due to the great British weather, I needed a few attempts to get myself in the air, which added to the stress and anticipation of the experience! I’m not great with heights, but I couldn’t ask for sponsorship to do something which wasn’t a challenge! Overall I cannot

Our super soaring skydivers

recommend the experience enough. To be able to do something this exciting and amazing, and help out such a worthy charity puts a smile on my face just thinking about it. Maybe next time I’ll upgrade to 15,000ft for even more of a challenge, and so I can get longer free falling which was by far my favourite part!

I have a running total of nearly £900 and am aiming to get it up to £1000. I didn’t recoup the £70 deposit as I wanted to make sure all donations went to the charity – after all I did get to tick something off my bucket list!”

In addition to Jessica, the sky was the limit for a number of other supporters, including Sue Hyett (sister of day centre patient Jon Byneo), Paul Bowden, Debbie Askew, Marketing & Promotions Manager at our shops, and even one of our Trustees, Sandy Nash. Between them they have raised in the region of £8,000!

As Jessica said though, the great British weather meant that some of our jumpers have been postponed until spring but we wish them all well when they finally get to take the plunge.

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Community Fundraising

This page has been kindly sponsored by Woodstock Roofing, Units 1 & 2,Elmsfield Industrial Estate, Chipping Norton, OX7 5XS, tel. 01608 644644 www.woodstockroofing.co.uk

We are very grateful to many people and groups who have fundraised for us recently. As usual, we don’t have room to mention them all, but below is a selection, which hopefully gives a flavour of the variety of events organised for Sobell House. These donations are very important to us, and it is also great fun to hold your own event.

Bicester Fire Station carried out a 24-hour challenge in memory of their colleague, Fire Fighter Terry Hankins, which involved covering the distance between Lands’ End to John O’Groats (881 miles) by rowing, cycling and running. A fantastic £898.00 was raised.

and a Charity Fun Day held at Abingdon United Football Club.

Ellen Lee and Isis Cyclists organised the Helen Beane Memorial Cycle Ride in October, inviting cyclists from the area to take part in a ride from Radcliffe Square to Waterperry Gardens. Donations from this event raised £548 in Helen’s memory.

Pat Dodd and family organised a disco. A huge amount of work went into this event and many local businesses contributed and raised £2,548.10.

We were fortunate to receive donations from two Rotary Clubs – the Rotary Club of Haddenham and District presented us with a cheque for £2,000 from their annual fundraising activities, and the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vespers gave us £1,881.00 from the proceeds of the raffle at their annual Dragon Boat event. Also the Thames Valley Luncheon Club presented us with a cheque for £600.

Frank Wolff is well-known locally for organising wonderful brass band concerts, and has supported us previously. He donated £500 from his concert in November at Cowley Conservative Club.

An event and quilt raffle held in Benson, organised by Marlene Lant and Susan Rushton raised £408.82.

The British Women’s Club of Dusseldorf sells Christmas cards featuring original paintings by a well-known local artist, Editha Hackspiel every year. They choose English and German charities to benefit from the sale of the cards. Sobell House were chosen as the English charity because one of their members, Auriel Drobeck-Condon, is currently being taken care of by Sobell House, and is a Day Centre patient. You can see Auriel celebrating Christmas in our Day Centre (in the chair on the left). The cards raised over B7,000, and a donation of B4,000 has been given to Sobell House.

Molly Stevenson, who manages the Port Mahon, organised a Christmas Bazaar with various stalls, food and live music and raised £640.

The CBF Golf Society chose Sobell House as their Charity of the Year for 2014. £4.840.53 was raised at events, including the Charity Challice golf day at Drayton Park Golf Club

Uffington Country Music Club chose to support Sobell House as their Charity, and raised £804.00. The picture shows our Community Nurse, Ali Flint, accepting a cheque at one of their club events.

For the third year running, the delivery of Christmas cards in Little Milton was organised by the Little Milton Christmas Post, where residents were invited to use the service to exchange a specially designed Christmas card, and make a donation to Sobell House. This year, £1211.25 was raised. Thanks very much to Sarah and Philip Jones for co-ordinating the service – they are now moving out of the area, but another resident is taking over for next year.

Marilyn Anderson and her friends have continued to raise money for the Gavin Anderson Appeal, in memory of her late husband. A bowls and Aunt Sally event raised £2,500, bringing the total so far to over £30,000!

Seven pupils from Dunmore Primary School organised a cake sale and raised £248.00 in memory of Vicki Lewis, who was a teacher there. Thanks to Ellie Lewis, Zara, Frankie, Grace, Beatrice, Amy and Abi for their hard work.

The team at the Charity Office can always offer advice and support, so if you have an idea for an event, please contact us on 01865 857007 or email lindsay@sobellhospice.org.

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This page has been kindly sponsored by S&R Childs, 69 London Road, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9AA, tel. 01865 427272 www.srchilds.co.uk

The 19th Lights of Love service was held on 13th December, and was very well supported with more messages on the tree than ever before.

We are pleased that this event gives people the opportunity to remember lost loved ones, which is particularly important over the Christmas period. We are very grateful to the individuals and organisations who contributed to this event, particularly Timbmet for donating the tree and TM Lettings for their sponsorship, but also to the many people who give their time to help. The donations from this appeal have raised a fantastic £26,000 this year.

On 3rd December, Dame Fiona Caldicott, Chairman of the Oxford University Hospital Trust, cut the ribbon and declared the new reception area at Sobell House Hospice officially open.

You may remember that we previously mentioned a book ‘My Heart and I’ written by one of our regular customers Brian Elks, Sadly Brian died suddenly in December, and we would like to offer our condolences to his family. To date, the book has raised £3,500 for Sobell House.

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who contributed to our Christmas Appeal, which raised over £10,500, including donations to Sobell House during Giving Tuesday on 2nd December, and funds raised at a special Giving Tuesday event at Rainbow and Spoon Boutique in Oxford. All your donations will help us to provide our wide range of services in our in-patient unit, Day Services, and across the community of Oxfordshire.

Well done Winter Walkers

parts of the building for patients and their families to relax in and generally encourage movement throughout the Hospice. Our new reception is now modern, light and airy and links up with the Day Centre, brings the outside in and optimises the proximity to the surrounding garden, giving the building an open feel.

IT equipment was also provided as part of the grant to enable better communication with family members outside of Oxfordshire. This has been very well received by patients and relatives. “The ability for my father to skype my sister in Australia has been fantastic! It helped my sister to see my dad and astounded my father!”

The installation of CCTV cameras and remote access facilities in strategic positions throughout the building has enabled staff to let patients, visitors and colleagues in outside normal opening hours without breaking the pattern of their work. This has had a hugely beneficial impact on their work and their ability to give each patient uninterrupted personal attention.

Legacies Leaving a legacy is a great way to help us to ensure the future of Sobell House Hospice. If you are thinking of writing or amending your will, why not consider including a gift for Sobell House Hospice?

Contact your solicitor, or ring the Sobell Charity Office on 01865 857007 for more information.

On the 18th January a whole host of Sobell supporters joined us in Blenheim Palace for our very first Winter Walk!

It was a beautiful day, the sun shone and close to 200 walkers set out on a 4 mile route in aid of the hospice.

Dean Gallacher who took part in the stroll with his wife Anne-Marie and friends said: “The hospice gives

people dignity toward the end. I see it as a half way point for letting people go.”

Yvonne Winter travelled from Nuneham Courtenay to join the walk as her niece, Tessa Clibbon, visits our Day Centre but was unable to make it to the event. She said “I’m supporting this for her because she is a patient at the hospice two days a week. The staff are such kind, friendly people and they give her a lot of help and support.”

The charity hopes to make this a regular event as well as asking our supporters to set up their own walks in aid of the hospice.

Thanks to everyone that took part, we hope to have raised over £2,000!

Funded by the Department of Health with a grant of £310,000, the project saw the re-design of the reception, making it more welcoming and more accessible. Also included was the provision of safe areas in different

‘Write a new chapter and leave a gift in your will

to Sobell House’

‘Help us to care for the next generation’

Department of Health grant

Christmas Appeal

In Memoriam – Brian Elks

Lights of Love

Registered Charity Number: 1118646. If you would prefer not to receive further copies of this newsletter please contact us on 01865 857007 or Email: mail@sobellhospice.org

Sobell House Hospice Charity, Churchill Hospital, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LJ. Tel: 01865 857007 • Fax: 01865 857015 Email: mail@sobellhospice.org www.sobellhospicecharity.org.uk

Sobell House Hospice

Forthcoming EventsSaturday, 28th February London Welsh v London Irish Sobell Charity Match, Kassam Stadium

June – September Go Yellow for Sobell

Friday, 5th June Sobell Golf Day, Studley Wood Golf Club

Saturday, 11th July Oxford Moonlight Stroll, St Edward’s School

Sunday, 12th July London 10k

Sunday, September 13th Bike Oxford

Sunday, October 11th Oxford Half Marathon

Saturday, 21st November Sobell Christmas Gift Fair, Radley College

Sunday, 22nd November Sobell Christmas Gift Fair, Radley College

A date for the diarySobell Christmas Gift Fair Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd November 2015

Sobell Golf Day Friday, 5th June£270 team of 4/£67.50 per person

We are organising our annual Golf Day at Studley Wood Golf Club, Horton-cum-Studley.

We are looking for teams of four, and there will be prizes for the first three teams, plus smaller competitions throughout the day. The golf will be followed by a hot buffet and auction.

For further information, please contact Kelly on 01865 857066, or email kelly@sobellhospice.org.

SPRING SALE in aid of Sobell HouseTuesday 28th April 10.30 am - 7pmWednesday 29th April 10.00 am - 3pm

Philberds Manor, Halls Lane, East Hanney, Nr Wantage, OX12 0HJTel: 01235 868 223

A selection of unique and affordable gifts, including spring fashions, shoes, jewellery, scarves, linens, rugs, children’s clothing and unusual plants.

Entrance £5 – includes coffee and biscuits

Lots of free parking available

Together at Christmas450 people enjoyed our concert at Christ Church Cathedral on 16th December, with up-lifting music provided by the Dragon School, Summertown Singers and the Oxford Gospel Choir. We would like to thank Dame Esther Rantzen and Paul Mayhew-Archer for providing the readings, and to the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church Cathedral for giving us the opportunity to hold the event.

The concert was supporting Sobell House and SeeSaw and ticket sales raised over £7,000.

Sobell Christmas Gift FairThe Sobell Christmas Gift Fair was a great event with around 2,000 people visiting the fair over the weekend. There were 68 stalls selling a variety of high quality, unusual goods and the event raised around £16,500.

Thanks go to SMY Electrical for donating and installing the electrics and lighting, to Skurrays for sponsoring the programme, posters and flyers and to Radley College for allowing us to hire their beautiful facilities. Finally, thank you to the volunteers who contributed time, energy and support to the event.