‘I Love Winchester Hospice’ online event and auction has lots to offer

A VALENTINE-themed event will help Winchester Hospice get closer to the appeal target needed to get the building open in Summer 2021.

‘I Love Winchester Hospice’ will take place just a few days before Valentine’s Day – and the Winchester Hospice fundraising team hope it’s an event that people locally and further afield will love supporting and being involved with.

The hospice fundraising appeal is now more than 90 per cent of the way towards the £3.7million target needed to get it open next Summer. The fundraising journey will then enter the next stage as more than £450,000 needs to be raised through public donations every year to help the hospice meet its annual running costs.

Winchester Hospice ambassador Mike Bridge is playing a key role in helping the Winchester Hospice fundraising team to plan and deliver the Friday, February 5 fundraiser. It will be live streamed from 7pm, and Mike and fellow ambassadors have already contributed some great prizes.

A fantastic trip to San Francisco, a bottle of Champagne signed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a signed and framed Take That picture, and a tennis racquet signed by three-time Wimbledon Champion Boris Becker are just a few of the fabulous lots that will be up for auction.

Mike said: “As an integral part of the event, we will be running a virtual online auction with some fantastic lots on offer. The auction will open during the week before and will close on the night of the event.

“We can promise guests a fun and entertaining evening. We are delighted to have CBS radio and TV Broadcaster Liam Mayclem as our host for the night and there will be mocktail/cocktail and Valentine breakfast-making sessions with a Michelin-star chef. We will also have musical interludes.

“People can attend from anywhere as long as they have access to an internet connection and are on Zoom. We want people to have a great time while also helping to raise a significant amount of money for the Winchester Hospice Big Push campaign to get the building open in Summer 2021.”

To find out more about the I Love Winchester Hospice event, including how to register, please go to www.charityauction.bid/LoveWH– and if you would like to donate a special prize for the auction, please contact Sabrina Marsden on sabrina.marsden@hhft.nhs.uk by Friday, January 15