Moonlight stroll raises £100,000 for hospice (From The Oxford Times)

Moonlight stroll raises £100,000 for hospice

5:46pm Thursday 3rd September 2009

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More than 1,000 walkers helped raise a record-breaking £100,000 by taking part in this year’s Oxford Moonlight Stroll to raise money for a city hospice.

The fundraising effort for the nine-mile stroll, now in its third year, topped its previous best of £92,000, raised for Sobell House at the Churchill Hospital in Headington.

Money has been flooding in from walkers across the county who took to the rain-drenched streets in July in aid of the hospice.

Stephen Cannon, 51, of Charlton Heights, Wantage, took part in the walk because his wife Karen, 51, is receiving treatment at the hospice for ovarian cancer.

Mr Cannon led Team Cannon, with his son Matthew, 23, daughter Lyndsey, 21, brother-in-law Ian West, and Mr West’s son Daniel, 12, and daughter Katy, 20.

Mr Cannon said: “It was a very wet night, but it was worth it because it raised a lot of money for the hospice, which is a very good cause.

“I personally raised £2,775.

“Karen gets massages and acupuncture treatment at the hospice and finds it rewarding to meet other people who are experiencing what she is going through.

“The whole family got together to take part and it was a really good team effort.”

Event organiser Kevin Game said: “The event was a massive evening for us all and, although we were exhausted by the end, the positive feedback and dedication shown by everyone made it all worthwhile.

“To have hit that magic £100,000 mark is a fantastic achievement and we can’t thank people enough for all their generosity and hard work — money is still coming in and we don’t know when it is going to stop.

“The money raised will help Sobell House stay at the forefront of treatment and care for helping those members of our community affected by terminal illness.”

As well as the walkers, there were 120 volunteers manning the route, which started and finished at St Edward’s School, Woodstock Road.

The hospice provides palliative care for people with life-limiting illnesses in the county. Hundreds of patients and their families benefit from the wide range of services, from expert medical treatment to complementary therapy, as well as community nursing and bereavement counselling.

The hospice costs more than £3m a year to run and its services are free regardless of patients’ beliefs, race or age.

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