A team of Lichfield workers will be stepping out to raise money for charity at the annual Solstice Walk in the city.
The St Giles Hospice event will see the group of 19 women from Jobcentre Plus in Birmingham Road taking part in the night-time stroll through the city’s streets on June 18.
Taking their name from the building where they all work – Guardian House – the Guardian Angels will don fairy-themed fancy dress and join up to 1,000 other women from across the region for the fundraising extravaganza.
The Solstice Walk takes place every year on the closest Saturday to the summer solstice, and last year it raised £80,000 for St Giles’ specialist care for local people with cancer and other serious illnesses.
Guardian Angel Jane Stanforth, who works as a Lone Parent Advisor at Jobcentre Plus, hopes she and her colleagues can help the hospice raise even more in 2011. She explained:
“Most of us here have been touched by terminal illness in one way or another, and a few of us have had friends or family members cared for by St Giles Hospice – so it’s a charity that means a great deal to us all. When I sent out an email asking who would like to take part in the Solstice Walk, I had a fantastic response, and we’ve already got 19 women signed up for the event.
“A few of us have done the Solstice Walk before, so we know what a great occasion it is. It’s really good fun and gives us the opportunity to get dressed up and enjoy ourselves while helping a brilliant local charity. Last year, nine of us took part and we managed to raise £500 for St Giles – and we’re hoping to do even better this time around.”
The 2011 Solstice Walk is sponsored by Lichfield-based salad firm Florette and starts at 10pm on June 18.
Participants can choose to complete one 4.5-mile circuit of the city or two laps for the full nine-mile course. Although the event is open only to women aged 16 and over, men are encouraged to get involved by volunteering as stewards.
Helen Relihan, head of fundraising for St Giles Hospice, said:
“The Solstice Walk is our single biggest fundraising event of the year and it’s a fantastic example of the Big Society in action, with people coming together from across the region to help a good cause in their community. Places are already being snapped up fast, so I would urge anyone interested in being part of the magical atmosphere of this unmissable evening to get in touch today and secure their places while they can!”
Entry to the Solstice Walk is £15 per person, and everyone who signs up will receive a sponsorship pack including fundraising ideas, training tips and details of how they can raise additional funds through sponsorship.
To register for this year’s event, visit the Solstice Walk page on the St Giles Hospice website at www.stgileshospice.com/solsticewalk. Alternatively, entry forms are available by calling the St Giles Fundraising Office on 01543 432538, by emailing fundraising@st-giles-hospice.org.uk, or from St Giles Hospice Shops.
