Our fantastic fundraisers

Did you know Prospect Hospice is a charity and it costs £7.5 million to provide our specialist end-of-life care to patients and support for their families?

Around 70 per cent of our services is funded by generous donations in the community. This includes from people playing our lottery or raffles, buying items from our charity shops or leaving gifts in wills.

People also take part in events and challenges to raise funds for us and during Hospice Care Week we are featuring the stories of two supporters – Hannah Newton and Kate Crutcher (pictured above) – who have done just this in memory of family members who were cared for by Prospect Hospice.

Hannah Newton completed a wing walk which involved her being strapped on top of a 1940s Boeing Stearman biplane and experiencing a series of flypasts, zoom climbs, steep dives and banks.

Hannah’s mum, Fiona Soden, was a nurse at Prospect Hospice and she cared for patients at the end of their lives.

Sadly, Fiona was diagnosed with cancer in March 2019 and despite treatment she died at home in Royal Wootton Bassett in January 2021.

Fiona, who was 55, was cared for by her children, Hannah and Joe, and supported by the Prospect Hospice team – many of whom were her colleagues and friends.

Fiona Soden (centre) with her children Hannah (far left) and son Joe (far right) and grandchildren Ralph and Riley.

Hannah, 28, saw for herself the compassionate and personalised care her mother received and decided to raise funds for the charity by doing a wing walk at Rendcomb Airfield, near Cirencester.

She said: “I was terrified at the thought of doing the wing walk but I like a challenge and I wanted to do something to give back to Prospect Hospice, which gave amazing care to my mum at the end of her life.

“When I got on the plane the adrenaline kicked in. It was absolutely amazing. The weather was gorgeous and the views over the Cotswolds were breath taking. I could choose between having a sedate or an adventurous flight. I chose an adventurous flight because I thought this is a once in a lifetime experience – go for it!”

Hannah, of Royal Wootton Bassett, has raised over £1,900, far exceeding her target of £700.

“It was lovely and a real honour to do the wing walk and raise funds for Prospect Hospice in mum’s memory. I think she would have thought I was crazy to do it, but also proud of me and the money raised for the hospice. I will be doing more fundraising for Prospect Hospice so it can help families in the future,” she said.

Kate Crutcher, 72, has completed an array of challenges to raise funds for Prospect Hospice and other charities close to her heart (Dorothy House Hospice, Brighter Futures and Forever Friends Appeal).

Four years ago Kate decided to complete 70 challenges to raise money for the charities and hopes to complete her final challenge in December. She calls herself ‘Diddy Dynamo’ and has done all sorts of things from paddle boarding to having her first tattoo and, for all four charities, she had her head shaved.

Her challenges for Prospect Hospice included a skydive, 15km Starlight Walks and a 22km swim in the pools at Lime Kiln, Royal Wootton Bassett, and Malmesbury – this, despite in Kate’s words, “I’m not good with heights or being in water!” So far she has raised £2,627 for the hospice.

Kate supports Prospect Hospice because they cared for her eldest son, Colin Crowther, who had cancer. At the end of his life he was cared for at his home in Swindon by the Prospect@Home team and died on 30 January 2021, aged 53.

Colin Crowther (second left) with his wife, Jayne, and sons.

Kate, of Royal Wootton Bassett, said: “The care Colin received from the hospice was incredible. They set up a care plan for him and the whole family. He had peace of mind and he and his wife knew the team were at the end of the phone if he was worried about anything. I decided to fundraise for Prospect Hospice because it worked very hard for Colin and I wanted to say thank you.

“Colin went into Prospect Hospice for ten days for respite care and for his medication to be adjusted. As his illness progressed he was cared for at home by the Prospect@Home team.

Colin in the inpatient unit at Prospect Hospice.

“Some people don’t understand what hospices are all about – they made Colin feel he had something to keep living for in the time he had left. It’s not just about dying, but about living the best life you can and we saw that.

“In his last few days we were able to be with him at home which was superb and the Prospect team were in the background if we needed them.”

Kate Crutcher and her son Colin.

What did Colin think about her fundraising challenges?

She said: “He thought I was completely bonkers! He said to me at the end “I’m very proud of what you have done mum”, and I was so proud of him.”

*If you would like to support Prospect Hospice by taking part in a challenge or want to find other ways to fundraise, please visit our website here or contact our fundraising team by email fundraisingandevents@prospect-hospice.net