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We care for 500 in patients and make more than 5,000 home visits a year.
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Lucky winner drives car home for Christmas
29 December 2011
An 81-year-old man from Rush Green couldn’t believe his luck when he arrived home on Christmas Eve to find a note from Saint Francis Hospice telling him he had won a raffle prize.
Alan Holdbrook was so surprised as he had been buying raffle tickets from the hospice for the last 6 years but had never won a prize. He said “I thought maybe I had been lucky enough to win one of the cash prizes, but never thought it would be the car.”
Esther Wakeman, Marketing Manager at Saint Francis Hospice said: “When we picked the lucky winner on Christmas Eve we wanted to make sure we could give him the good news straight away. As there was no phone number on the ticket we asked one of our fundraising ambassadors, who was in the area at the time, to pop a note through Mr Holdbrook’s door.”
Alan started supporting the hospice when his wife, Jean, died in 2005. “My wife had cancer and the hospice provided her with a special mattress and wheelchair to make it easier for her to stay at home. I buy the raffle tickets as a way of supporting the hospice and never expected to win. In fact I have never won anything before - ever!”
Alan was handed the keys to his brand new Mini One by Saint Francis Hospice Chief Executive, Pam Court, at Sytner in Harold Hill on Thursday 29th December.
The Christmas raffle raised an amazing £70,000 and thanks to the Elsie Pepperell Trust, who once again kindly donated the first prize of a Mini One, the money raised will be spent on patient care. The £1 a ticket draw also provided supporters with the chance to win cash prizes ranging from £50 to £1,000.
Pam Court said: “It is wonderful that so many people have supported the raffle and I want to congratulate all the prize winners. We were delighted that the Trustees of the Elsie Pepperell Trust kindly donated our wonderful first prize once again. The £70,000 raised could fund the cost of over two weeks of care in patients’ homes across Brentwood, Havering, West Essex and Barking and Dagenham. All of our services are provided free of charge and in these hard economic times we really need local people to support us.”
There are many ways you could support your local hospice - Saint Francis. To find out more visit our How you can help page or call 01708 771433.
