Halton Personnel donate to Florence Nightingale Charity

RAF Halton personnel visited the Florence Nightingale Hospice this week to deliver a cheque for £2340.00. The donation was raised by Warrant Officer Pam Daly and colleagues by supporting The London Marathon, The Silverstone Half Marathon, Ride London and The Westminster Mile. Pam and her colleagues, Cpl Michael Cooper, Cpl Ross Murray, Aircraftsman Oliver Brook and Aircraftsman Jake Cullum, supported the events by handling the runners’ baggage and giving out goodie bags.

Pam chose the Florence Nightingale Hospice after losing a close friend quite quickly to cancer. Her friend’s husband was on Recruit Training Squadron at RAF Halton and since then Pam has worked tirelessly to raise the funds to thank them for their care. Her work culminated this week when the Station Commander of RAF Halton visited the hospice with Pam and her colleagues to present the cheque to the Chief Executive of the Charity, Sue Jenkins and Jane Naismith, Matron and lead nurse of the Specialist Palliative Care Team.

Sue said: “We really appreciate this donation, it will go towards making sure people get the care they need and as Pam has not specified for it to be put towards a certain gift, like a bench, it can go into the budget to be used for other things that are required to provide the best care required.”

Pam said: “The events we supported pay up to £20 per volunteer which is how we collected the money. We split into teams and assisted with baggage collection and moving and giving out goodie bags. Ride London is a 100 mile ride which starts at the Olympic Park and finishes at The Mall.” Pam carries out these duties every year, selecting different charities to support.

Group Captain Burns paid tribute to the team, saying: “A quarter of a million pounds doesn’t go far nowadays but raising the money to help people here with care and dignity is a no brainer. They have all done well and acted selflessly.” He also praised Pam for her hard work and dedication to charity.

Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity (FNHC) is committed to raising over £650,000 each year to ensure the continued funding of in-patient and at-home palliative care services, across Bucks, Beds and Oxon, for patients battling life-limiting illness. Go to their website www.fnhospice.org.uk to see how the money is used.