Working with Charities

From May 2006 to March 2008, Lakeside Village outlet shopping centre raised a staggering £35,000 for its nominated charity, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, smashing their original target of £25,000. Generous shoppers and staff at the centre have taken part in a number of fundraising events including a Parachute Jump, a Santa Dash, various clothing amnesties, fancy-dress competitions and have even been locked up in a working prison for the day!

Since the launch of their support for Bluebell Wood back in May 2006, Lakeside Village staff have been dedicated in their support for the hospice’s invaluable work for children. All year they have encouraged local residents to take part in regular clothing amnesties and bring all their unwanted clothes, toys, videos, books and CDs to the centre and help ‘Bag-it for Bluebell’.

Laura Clarkson, Deputy Centre Manager was locked up for the day in HMP Doncaster as part of a Jail Break event, and raised an impressive £800! More recently in the festive period, volunteers dressed up as Santa and ran 2 ½ miles around the lake and back to the centre to raise hundreds of pounds for Bluebell. Centre Manager Cheryl Sadler raised £815 in sponsorship for this particular event.

Commenting on the events, Cheryl said: "We at Lakeside Village are delighted to surpass our original target of £25,000 in 2007. We have raised a spectacular amount for our dedicated charity, Bluebell Wood, and as a result we would like to pledge our support once again to the charity in 2008 when we hope to raise a rolling target of £50,000 through more fun, creative and spectacular events! We wish to thank everyone involved in our fundraising activities last year and hope to see the same level of support and commitment to help us achieve our huge target of £50,000 in 2008!"

Bluebell Wood is a charity raising funds for a dedicated children's hospice to serve families living in the South Yorkshire and North Midlands area. Currently in this catchment alone there are over 200 children suffering from life limiting and terminal conditions, who need support and care. The Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice needs to raise approximately £35,000 a week for the running costs of the hospice.

For more information about Bluebell Wood, click here