E Sargeant team launches Thames Hospice partnership

Caring staff at E Sargeant & Son Funeral Directors have pledged to raise £50,000 for Thames Hospice over the next five years.

The teams, from the Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead branches, are planning several major fundraising events to support the Windsor-based hospice.

They launched their fundraising drive with a sponsored walk on Sunday 22 July – which started from the Slough branch, taking in the Windsor branch and the Hospice en-route to the Maidenhead branch.

Regional Development Director Peter Dearing and 10 other volunteers from E Sargeant & Son, Richard Lloyd Funeral Services of Woodley and Woking Funeral Services took part in the 10-mile walk, and have already raised over £1,000.

Area Development Manager Mark Clements said: “This is the start of a five-year commitment to raise £10,000 a year for Thames Hospice, a total of £50,000, which is fully backed by Funeral Partners.

“Our branches work closely with the Hospice, which does such a fantastic job supporting families in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, and our staff are committed to making a real difference by raising money for this vital service.

“Although this was advertised as an E Sargeant & Son event it was wonderful to have the support of colleagues from other branches in the Funeral Partners group. It was great to see so much team spirit amongst people who very kindly gave up their Sunday to help raise money for the Hospice and despite temperatures reaching over 30 degrees, the team kept going and completed the 10 miles arriving at the Maidenhead branch at 4:00pm.”

Mary-Ann Leader, Corporate Fundraiser, from Thames Hospice said: “Funeral Partners’ pledge to support Thames Hospice over the next five years will make a vital difference to the level of care our patients and their loved ones receive at Thames Hospice and in the community.

“This is only the start of what is a very exciting new corporate partnership, and everyone at Thames Hospice would like to extend a sincere thank you to the teams for their generosity and support.”

Thames Hospice supports those living with life-limiting illnesses and their families in its Hospice and in people’s homes. It costs more than £8 million a year to run, with 70% of its funding coming from charitable donations.