Spring Ball raises £27,000!

We teamed up with Sarah Glew to organise a ball in celebration of the life of her late husband, Andy and our 40th birthday. The black-tie event took place at Braxted Park Estate, and featured dinner, dancing, an auction and a raffle.

The MC and auctioneer for the night was TV and radio presenter David Whiteley, who is currently the co-presenter of ITV News Anglia. Guests were also treated to the premiere of our 40th birthday commemorative video starring some of the original Farleigh staff and supporters.

The video can be viewed by visiting farleighhospice.org/40-film or on our Facebook page at facebook.com/FarleighHospice.

Debbie de Boltz, Fundraising Manager said: “The Glew family have been dedicated fundraisers for us for some time now, and we are so thankful to them for their continued generosity. Andy was a remarkable man, and the spring ball was the perfect way to celebrate his life. We are thrilled that Sarah approached us to make it a joint celebration of our 40th birthday. Thanks to the family’s continued fundraising efforts, and the phenomenal amount raised on the night, we are able to continue to provide vital care for those affected by life-limiting illnesses and their families for the next 40 years and beyond.”

For the Glew family, COVID-19 struck at an incredibly difficult time. The family were fighting their own battle with Andy’s Glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer. As the country went into the first lockdown, Andy’s care was moved from Farleigh’s inpatient unit (IPU) to its new virtual ward system and he received daily care at home from the Farleigh nursing team in the final weeks of his life. Throughout Andy’s illness, the family used the full range of support that Farleigh offers from day services and clinical care to counselling and have raised over £10,000 for the hospice via the ‘MuchLoved’ tribute website as well as through a living tribute which Andy set up with the Farleigh Fundraising Team in the last few weeks of his life.

Sarah says: “The team at Farleigh Hospice did a fantastic job of adapting their services to the circumstances during lockdown and ensured we had the care and support that we needed. Being in lockdown meant that we couldn’t have the funeral we had planned, as we were only allowed 10 people. The ball was my way of having the celebration of Andy’s life that we couldn’t have at the time. Now that we are able to all get together again, it was great to be able to celebrate Andy’s life by joining with Farleigh during its 40th birthday year. The evening allowed all of Andy’s family and friends to finally come together to remember him and was a great opportunity for us to continue our ongoing fundraising for the hospice.”

For more information about how you can support Farleigh Hospice visit www.farleighhospice.org/spring-ball, call the Fundraising Team on 01245 457411 or email fundraising@farleighhospice.org