From Martin Clunes to Memory Trees – how the Weldmar Hospicecare Summer Fete raised more than £20,000!
A huge thank you to everyone who attended the Weldmar Hospicecare Summer Fete on Saturday.
Beautiful weather and special guest Martin Clunes helped attract more than three thousand visitors to the meadow at Weldmar’s in-patient unit in Dorchester, which was full of stalls, games, food and drink, and entertainment.
An incredible £20,643 was raised on the day, all of which will go towards the end of life care Weldmar provides in Dorset, to patients in their own homes, at the in-patient unit, and at Day Services sessions across the county.
Martin Clunes, star of Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly, is a regular visitor to the fete, and posed for hundreds of selfies with visitors, patients, volunteers and staff, had a go at the Coconut Shy (and won a coconut), and even held a bald eagle!
He said, “It is a special place, run by special people doing a special job, and it’s been another special day”. He also said he was delighted to come back to the event: “It’s what they do here, the atmosphere, and the fact they keep asking! It is one of Dorset’s treasures and we have to look after our treasures so if it makes people happy, it’s not too hard for me”.
Martin spent time visiting patients currently being looked after at the hospice, who also met his new dog, Bob Jackson.
Organiser Abi Shirley said, “I’m delighted! It’s my first time organising the fete – I’m so happy now that the doors are open and so many people are arriving. We’ve been so blessed with the weather!”.
For many family members, the Summer Fete is their first time returning to the hospice following the loss of a loved one, and new at this year’s Summer Fete was our Memory Trees.
Staff and volunteers from our Family Services team were on hand to chat, and visitors could remember a loved one on a colourful ribbon and hang it on our trees in the meadow.
Thank you to the army of brilliant volunteers, who manned stalls, served milkshakes, took Silent Auction bids, helped marshal the Park & Ride, and much more.
One of the volunteers even came all the way from Boston, Massachusetts, in the USA! Sophia Zupanc is on a year long study fellowship that is taking her around the world visiting hospices and similar organisations. After spending the day discovering more about the work of Weldmar, she manned the Coconut Shy for the day.
