Melrose Gardens sheltered housing residents raise bumper sum for Rowan's Hospice

Residents from Melrose Gardens sheltered housing development in Gosport, part of the Thorngate Churcher Trust, have been busy fundraising, and have presented Rowans Hospice in Waterlooville with a donation of £2,860.

Over the last year the residents have had great fun while raising money through a soup and sweet meal, bring & buy table, a bingo event, Tony’s car cleaning (he cleaned over 40 cars), and regular coffee and cake mornings. They chose Rowans Hospice because of the excellent work it does in the local community.

Rowans Hospice is a charity providing free end of life care and support to adults in the local  community who have a life-limiting illness and their families. There’s a wide range of services which support people to live as well as they can with their illness, from the moment of diagnosis. This includes an inpatient unit, a hospice at home service, living well services and support for carers and bereaved families.

Accepting the cheque from the Melrose Gardens residents, Senior Community & Events Fundraiser Lilly Griffiths said: “A huge thank you to the residents for this amazing donation which will make a real difference to our important work. It was a pleasure to meet you all and learn about your fundraising.” Lilly gave a presentation on the work of the charity and showed a very moving video, then chatted with residents.

Warden Lance Campling added: "I was so impressed with the way so many residents embraced the cause and got involved. Our target was £1,000 but we exceeded that target very quickly and very nearly trebled it, which is fantastic. My thanks to  every single person who contributed and a special thank you to Rowans who have been so supportive and appreciative  of our efforts throughout the year."