Hospice’s walk raises six-figure sum as date for this year’s event is revealed

Thousands of women who stepped out to walk miles around Bury St Edmunds while wearing their pyjamas and a pair of flashing bunny ears have raised more than £220,000 for a local charity.

St Nicholas Hospice Care, which works to ensure people are informed, equipped and able to live with dying, death and grief, announced the official total for its 2019 Girls Night Out walk this week as £224,699 and also revealed the date for this year’s event as Saturday, September 12.

Jenny Smith, the hospice’s events manager, said: “When the final amounts of sponsorship money come in, we expect Girls Night Out 2019 will have raised a whopping £224,699. This total is made up of the registration fees of those taking part, the fantastic sponsorship which our walkers received, and the corporate support we received from generous local businesses.

“This fantastic amount will allow St Nicholas Hospice Care to continue to serve those in our community facing death, dying and grief.

“Thank you to every person who supported Girls Night Out 2019, whether you walked, fundraised, donated or volunteered you have made a big difference.”

The efforts of 2019’s Girls Night Out walkers, some 2,000 who proudly donned their flashing bunny ears while completing either 11.2 or six-miles around a moonlit Bury on September 14, will help the hospice provide a range of support services in the community and provide specialist care.

Each year the charity needs to fundraise to allow it to provide services across West Suffolk and Thetford, ensuring the best possible end-of-life care for those and their families facing dying, death and grief.

Lizzie Cross, the hospice’s events fundraiser, said: “Girls Night Out is the charity’s biggest fundraising event and the whole evening has a fantastic atmosphere, which means that many women take part year after year. For that reason, we would like to announce the date of the 2020 walk so people can mark it in their diaries. We hope to see as many women as possible on Saturday, 12 September for our 12th Girls Night Out.”

Registration for Girls Night Out 2020 will open on Friday, March 27.

For more information, go to www.stnicholashospice.org.uk or visit the St Nicholas Hospice Care Girls Night Out Facebook page.

Pictured above St Nicholas Hospice Care celebrates Girls Night Out 2019 official fundraising total of £224,699.