Mansfield shopping centre raises more than £2,500 for hospice

Since their fundraising began, the shopping centre has collected a whopping £2,660.28 for the charity.

“We are so pleased to have raised such a significant amount for John Eastwood Hospice,” said Rebekah O’Neill, Centre Manager at Four Seasons. “They are a very worthwhile cause and we’re delighted that the local community has once again really got behind the partnership, regularly supporting the charity events we have organised.”

John Eastwood Hospice was named the Four Seasons Charity of the Year in April 2016 after people from across the region were invited to put forward good causes to help the shopping centre select its nominated charity for the coming year.

“We adopted the charity as the key focus of our fundraising activities,” said Rebekah. “John Eastwood Hospice Trust does such good work in delivering care and advice to the local community, and over the course of the year we have worked with them to generate much-needed support. From bake sales to Christmas-themed fundraising, we have delivered fun and engaging events for our customers to ensure as much money was raised as possible,” said Rebekah.

Over the course of the year, Four Seasons hosted fundrasing events including creating a Memory Tree, which was a very popular and simple way for people to commemorate loved ones that they have lost.

In return for a donation to charity, visitors collected a star hanging decoration from the customer service desk to write a message to - or in memory of - someone dear to them.

The shopping centre also held an ‘unwanted Christmas gift’ appeal, which encouraged customers to donate their unwanted gifts to the John Eastwood Hospice Trust.

And there was a Four Seasons Bake Sale bonanza where colleagues at the Mansfield shopping centre baked buns, biscuits and cupcakes for the event. All money raised from the event was donated to the charity.

Yvonne Shucksmith, fundraising and events manager with John Eastwood Hospice Trust, said that the charity partnership with Four Seasons had exceeded all their expectations.

She said:“We are thrilled with how much money has been donated over the course of the year. This will go along way in helping the hospice continue all the good work it does. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in fundraising over the last year."