GM Fundraising, is pleased to celebrate its 15th year of working with Hope House Children’s Hospices. This is a double celebration, as the charity can also reveal that together they have reached the fantastic milestone of £1,000,000 raised.

On 10th May a celebratory lunch was held at Hope House’s Sandstone Centre in honour of this achievement. Refreshments were provided by hospice volunteers, before speeches from Hope House’s Chair of Trustees, Barbara Evans, CEO Andy Goldsmith and former CEO David Featherstone, praising the team’s efforts and providing some gentle ribbing of Founder Gary Morton – a mark of the close relationship between the two organisations.

The day ended with the unveiling of a new plaque and artwork commissioned by a local artist (provided free of charge). The plaque is the first and only one of its kind to feature in the hospice due to its home from home nature. Each team member present was presented with a replica of the print to take home and thanked individually for all their contributions.

Andy Goldsmith comments: “GM Fundraising’s ethos is to have fun while fundraising, and this rings true for Hope House. Fun is such an important aspect of what we do – for the kids and their families and siblings. Although I must confess I do wonder where the fun element comes into cycling so many miles, but each to their own! The fundraising is unique in that it is unrestricted, so on behalf of all the trustees, staff, children and families, thank you GM Fundraising.”

Gary Morton responds: “We get a lot of pats on the back for our efforts, but I have to say on behalf of us all that it has given us far more than we’ve given it. It’s been a pleasure; we’ve done and seen things we would never have had we not been fundraising for people less fortunate than ourselves. We have had the best of times doing it and we intend to continue doing so”.

“The teams for the Hope 66 ride were named after three of the Hope House children Rowan, Kiera and Robert. When I struggled on the ride – which was quite a bit – I looked at the photo on my chest and it got me through. I know the rest of the team did the same. It’s nice to be thanked, but, in reality, the pleasure was all ours.”