Meet the team behind the fundraising at Acorns Children's Hospice

While it might look like they put the 'fun' in fundraising, the team are responsible for helping to generate the vital income Acorns needs to continue providing care for children and their families.

This year, the hospice on Bath Road, Worcester celebrates its ten year anniversary and each year the charity relies on the public to raise £9 million every year to keep its three hospices running.

The role of the team is to liaise with members of the community, support fundraising activities and act as representatives for the charity.

In the last year, Acorns has supported over 760 children and more than 980 families, including those who are bereaved.

Your Worcester News meets Mandie Fitzgerald, fundraising manager, Gemma Timmis, fundraising officer, and Jayne Charles, fundraising administrator, to find out more about the job.

Mandie Fitzgerald

Fundraising manager Mandie, 50, lives just a mile away from the Bath Road hospice and has been at Acorns for about three years.

Mandie said: "I wanted to work for a worthwhile charity supporting local families.

"The quality of Acorns drew me to the job."

She did a degree in economics and marketing but ultimately wanted to leave the commercial world for the charity sector after seeing how beneficial charities were and wanted to be a part of that work.

"I started as a volunteer in my previous job and was asked to apply for the role. I’ve now been in the charity sector for 11 years and always in community fundraising."

The support of people in Worcester has blown Mandie away: "As for the support of the local community - we’re frequently blown away by the generosity of people.

"The fundraising may not necessarily come from someone who has a direct link to the hospice but they support us and endorse that by the work they do.

"It’s amazing the amount of variety out there - from the child selling cakes to make £12.47 to the big event which raises £10,000, and everything in between.

"Some people may see their fundraising as insignificant in the grand scheme of things but that’s absolutely not the case.

"It doesn’t matter about the amount, large or small, it is all absolutely vital.

To those thinking about fundraising, I’d say go for it."

The great reward in fundraising, she said , was the feel good factor in helping someone you have never met and being part of the bigger picture.

"It’s also incredibly rewarding to be able to feel part of a community and it’s this I believe that increases personal self-worth.

"These days it also helps young people stand out against the competition, to be able to say they have fundraising work or volunteering on a CV. "

Mandie's job has helped to put in focus what is really important in life.

"None of us would want to be in the position to have to support a life-limited or life-threatened child.

"This job puts everything in perspective.

"The little things we worry about aren’t massive in the scheme of things, compared to the challenges faced by some of the families at Acorns.

"I learn something new every week about the support Acorns gives families.And it is the whole family who are supported.

"The community teams are fantastic, always going beyond what is expected.

"They are on call 24/7, there to help support families, arrange funerals and act as a go-between.

"I’m absolutely passionate about what I do.

"I challenge anybody not to be affected by a visit to Acorns. I’d describe it as a home from home, one big family."

Jayne Charles

Jayne has been at Acorns since 2002 starting out as the Three Counties appeal coordinator.

Part of the 49-year-old's role was to help coordinate the appeal to raise the first £4million needed to build the hospice.

Jayne, from St John's, Worcester, said: "I was based in a portable building where the car park now is and when the land the hospice was built on was a donkey pasture for the donkeys Dotty and Sally.

"We also had a totaliser there which we regularly painted in when the money came through.

"Supporters used to come in for cups of tea and cake and see how things were progressing. There was a real community spirit there.

"I remember when the diggers arrived which was brilliant and we all cheered them on.

"It was fantastic seeing the hospice rising out of the field.

"June Sayce, the lady who gifted the land to Acorns used to come round for breakfast and we used to help feed the donkeys."

Her role was helping to organise events and processing donations as well as filing the plans for the build and dealing with the supporters as they came in.

"People would come in and say hello and drop off donations, for example money raised at coffee mornings. There was a great atmosphere.

"Eventually the time came to take the portacabin down and we moved into the hospice.

"It was great to have a base to meet local people and supporters."

Ten years on, and her role today entails dealing with phone enquiries, meeting supporters, processing banking, thank you letters, the weekly events list and coordinating volunteers.

There is a group of eight volunteers that come into the office at different times and do things like prepare tombolas, count money and general admin.

There are other volunteers out in the field who help at bucket collections, talks and events

"Volunteers are vital, and do so much to help our work, whether it’s with the fundraising team or in the hospice. We really couldn’t manage without them."

Gemma Timmis

Gemma is the fundraising team’s newest member working at Acorns since July.

The 25-year-old explained that, in basic terms, she is a representative of the charity in the community where fundraising is concerned.

Gemma, who lives in the city centre, said: "I help supporters with anything they need, whether it’s materials or advice; basically any which way they may need help.

"I’d been working for various companies but hadn’t really felt fulfilled in what I was doing so I went looking for a charity to work for.

"I’d always known about Acorns so when the opportunity came, I grabbed it.

"I love meeting people, community supporters and organisations.

"It’s lovely to meet people who have done things off their own back, held events, coffee mornings and so on.

"One thing I’m working on is a list of all the various festivals which take place in the region, whether it’s food, music, art, anything really.

"There are great opportunities for volunteers to come and take part."

Covering the Three Counties, Gemma said it was a massive area so volunteers were like extensions of their team in a way.

"We also have fundraising support groups in places like Gloucestershire and Ross on Wye who do so much to help raise funds and awareness.

"If anyone’s interested in helping out, whether it’s fundraising or volunteering, or setting up their own fundraising group, please do get in touch.

"To be based at the hospice is a great daily reminder of why the work is so important.

"If you’re having a bad day for whatever reason, it’s a place that really helps put things in perspective."

* Anyone wishing to support the work of Acorns, can sign up for the Acorns Lantern Walk at Worcester Racecourse on Saturday, November 14.

For more information, visit www.acorns.org.uk/shinetogether or call 01564 825037.