Housebuilder hits £10,000 fundraising for hospice

St Barnabas Hospices events manager Becky Otter with Liz Penniston from Chestnut Homes

The developer, which is building the Willoughby Chase estate at Alford, has been supporting the St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice for the past 14 years.

Since 2001, the company has raised £10,152, which equates to a two-week stay in the hospice’s inpatients’ unit.

The firm’s most recent £200 donation was raised via a customer survey. Buyers who choose a Chestnut Home are encouraged to fill in customer satisfaction questionnaires and in return, the company offers them a gift voucher, or alternatively buyers can choose for a donation to be made to the hospice.

St Barnabas is an independent charity which cares for more than 9,000 people a year who are living with life-limiting illnesses in the county. All its services are free but St Barnabas needs to raise more than £4m every year to keep going. More than 1,000 volunteers play a crucial role in its success.

A cheque was presented last month to St Barnabas’ events manager Becky Otter by Liz Penniston from Chestnut Homes at the developer’s head office near Lincoln.

Liz said: “We recognise the wonderful and vital work carried out by staff and volunteers at the hospice and we are always delighted to lend our supporting to such a deserving and worthy local cause.

“To have overtaken the £10,000 mark is a gratifying milestone but we will not be stopping there – the hospice can look forward to much more support from Chestnut Homes in the years to come.”

Becky said: “We are so thankful for the invaluable support we have received from Chestnut Homes, which has raised a staggering £10,000 since it began fundraising for us.

“Every single penny raised helps to ensure that we can continue providing end-of-life care to people across the county who are living with life-limiting illness. Chestnut Homes’ continued support is gratefully received by everyone at St Barnabas.”

Chestnut Homes’ fundraising for St Barnabas over the past 14 years has included contributions from various customer surveys, and the hospice has also benefitted from the proceeds of the company’s annual dinner-dance raffle, which receives a lot of support from the developer’s suppliers.