Local anonymous donor to match fund £50,000 of fundraising at the St Wilfrid’s Hospice Chichester Moonlight Walk

Amba and Eliza from the St Wilfrid’s Hospice fundraising team with Freida the owl, the newest St Wilfrid’s mascot

An extremely generous anonymous donor has pledged to double the first £50,000 of fundraising raised by the walkers at the 2023 St Wilfrid's Hospice Moonlight Walk.

More than 700 local residents from around West Sussex will be getting together to set off from Chichester College on Saturday June 17, to embark on a five or 10 mile walk around Chichester for the 15th annual St Wilfrid’s Hospice Moonlight Walk.

It’s a night of fun and remembrance, all to raise funds for the vital end of life care services that St Wilfrid's offers to the community free of charge.

The Moonlight Walk is a much-loved annual fundraising event for the local Hospice, and this year a very generous local donor has pledged to match fund the first £50,000 of fundraising, meaning many of the walkers will have every £1 that they fundraise for local Hospice care, doubled.

Laura Eastwood, Head of Fundraising at St Wilfrid’s Hospice, Chichester, said: “We are hugely grateful to this anonymous local donor for match funding the first £50,000 of Moonlight Walk fundraising.

"The last few years since Covid has meant that we haven’t raised as much money as we would have during our Moonlight Walks, and this £50,000 has meant that we are already half way to achieving our fundraising target of £100,000.”

There’s still time to sign up the Moonlight Walk and support your local Hospice! The Moonlight Walk will be held on Saturday 17th June, starting at Chichester College. You can register online until 13th June, or you can sign up on the night from 6pm. Book your tickets at stwh.co.uk/moonlight

***St Wilfrid’s Hospice is much more than a building. They provide tailored end of life care both in the community and at the Hospice, supporting patients living with a terminal illness, and their family and friends.

Walkers at the 2022 Moonlight Walk with Wilf, one of the St Wilfrid's Hospice owl mascots

Their vital services are all provided free of charge, thanks to the generous support of fundraisers and donors. Only a small percentage of the costs are currently met by the NHS and they rely on the community to fund the remainder, which totals over £8million each year. You can find out more information at stwh.co.uk or by calling 01243 775302.