Ballymena NI Hospice Support Group raises £71,000

At their annual general meeting the committee presented a cheque for £71,000 to Mrs Ina Henry, head of fundraising for NI Hospice, for monies raised over the past 12 months.

That sum will be designated to the various services within NI Hospice which include caring for the terminally ill in Hospice, Children’s Hospice, nursing care at home and transporting referred patients to hospital for specialised treatments.

Over the past year, the committee has organised numerous events such as street collections, bag packing days, a table quiz night, a sponsored walk, a fashion show and a Chinese banquet as well as the annual Christmas Fair at Tullyglass House Hotel.

The committee have thanked everyone who supported those events, not least the sponsors, local businesses who donated raffle prizes, those who have attended the functions, shopkeepers who allow collection boxes on their premises, street collectors and the public for their generous support.

Special thanks have been extended to the Ballymena Chamber of Commerce who donated the proceeds of the raffle at their 2011 Ballymena Business Awards to NI Hospice and also to Stephen & Marie Reynolds of The Front Page who organised a major sponsored walk and other events, with proceeds in excess of £12,000 donated to NI Children’s Hospice.

The annual running costs of NI Hospice are around £9million. To-date, over the last eight years, due to the generosity of the people of the Ballymena borough, the Ballymena Group presented £416,000 to NI Hospice which represents £1,000 per week over that period.

A spokesperson for the Group said: “Thank-you to everyone who has supported us in the past years and we hope that we can rely on your continued support in the future”.