A challenge is defined as a task or situation that tests someone’s abilities. This is what makes it such an inspiring way to fundraise, and in 2025 we’re encouraging local people to choose their challenge for Willen Hospice!
Not only do you get to experience something amazing, and possibly once-in-a-lifetime, but your daring commitment will motivate friends, family and maybe even people you’ve not heard from in years, to show their support by donating.
Challenges could include a skydive, long-distance walk such as the Chiltern 50 or like Lindsey, running the London Marathon.
In April, Lindsey will be running this iconic event in memory of her mum, Hilary, who died in our In-Patient Unit last January. As a born and bred Londoner who moved to Bletchley in the early 1960s, Hilary loved watching the marathon on television. So Lindsey was determined to get a place for this year and take on the 26.2-mile challenge for the very first time.
“I don’t class myself as a runner!”, says Lindsey. “Every Saturday my husband and I do Parkrun. Many decades ago I used to run half marathons, but I’ve had both my knees partially replaced, so for the last decade I’ve been limited to 5k. The marathon has been on my bucket list for forever though. When the opportunity came up, I thought I just want to do it once and why not do it for Willen?
“I signed up with Willen to express my interest, then my husband and I went on holiday. When we came back, I found out I’d been lucky enough to get a place. I cried. I was just so excited because Mum used to sit and watch the marathon every year. She was from London, so she loved following the race and seeing all of the iconic places she remembered.
“I started my marathon training very early because I wanted to take it slowly and give my body the chance to get up to speed with what my mind wanted to do. I joined Redway Runners locally and did their half marathon training programme. When I applied for the marathon, I hadn’t really thought that it was going to take over my life. Physically it’s quite demanding. I’m training three or four nights a week, plus long runs at the weekend, and then I have to think about my food, nutrition, fuelling and hydration. But it’s been brilliant. I do loops around Willen Lake so I run past the Hospice as part of my training.
“That’s why I’m being so prepared, so that I can enjoy it”
“People have asked me what time I think I’ll do it in, but I’m just going to get to the end. That’s the goal. I make sure I get a certain number of miles of training in each week, because I want to run the marathon and really enjoy it. That’s why I’m being so prepared, so that I can enjoy it – because I’m only going to do it once!
“I’ve loved the fundraising part of this challenge. I’ve gone with lots of different approaches and I started early. I got my place last summer, so the first thing I did was hold a Peroni and Prosecco party at our house. I told friends it was £10 and I’d top up their drinks all evening. We normally have a party every year anyway, so we just turned it into a fundraiser and that raised about £450.
“Then I did a quiz night. Because I run my own business, I network a lot, so I thought I should be able to arrange some teams. My husband put together all of the quiz questions and my brother offered to be the quizmaster. The whole evening raised about £1,400 and we had around 60 people.
“I’ve also been selling grief wrist bands to help others affected by loss (www.griefband.co.uk) and through my HR and recruitment company, Clarity People, I’ve pledged to give 20% of my fee to the Hospice when I recruit for a client.
“When I’m doing my training, I make lots of short videos for my social media. Every single one generates a small amount of donations, sometimes from unexpected places.
“My goal was to raise the minimum fundraising target by Christmas. I’ve smashed that…”
“My goal was to raise the minimum fundraising target by Christmas. I’ve smashed that but I’d really like to make the pot as big as possible, so I’ll just keep going. I’m really enjoying coming up with some creative fundraising ideas.
“I support the Hospice because it’s on my doorstep and I didn’t know that I needed it. But then when we did need it, as a family, we were lucky enough to be able to get a place for Mum. It’s that ‘pay it forward’ piece, around making sure your community has what it needs to support everyone. If you don’t pay into that and help support it, it’s not going to be there.
“If you could have the perfect death, then Mum absolutely had that – right from the moment she arrived at the Hospice, to the very end. The Hospice is like a home. The nurses must see so many patients and families coming in, but everybody is made to feel welcome and nothing’s too much trouble. Mum definitely would have wanted to be at the Hospice and that was a great final wish.”
Help us to care for more families like Lindsey’s. See what’s we’ve got planned this year and choose your challenge for 2025.
