NORTH DEVON COME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT CUDDLE APPEAL

Caen Community Primary School in Braunton were one of the first to support the appeal and on Monday 3 March, hosted their own event.

Locals, businesses, and schools have been donating and fundraising in support of North Devon Hospice’s Cuddle Appeal, to help provide a specialist cuddle bed at the hospice and more care at home for people facing cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.

Launched last month, the Cuddle Appeal has gained the support of hundreds across the North Devon community, with donations flooding in to help the hospice reach over half of their fundraising target. Caen Community Primary School in Braunton were one of the first to support the appeal and on Monday 3^rd March, hosted their own event to bring people together and help raise vital funds for this urgent appeal.

“As part of their PSHE, the year 6 children had been tasked with putting on a fundraising event but they needed to pick the charity and organise the event themselves,” said Sam Page, Head Teacher at Caen Community Primary School. “They chose to raise money for North Devon Hospice’s Cuddle Appeal after feeling inspired by the motivations behind the appeal and knowing that the hospice has offered support to many in our community.”

Working in groups, the primary school pupils ran several stalls selling various goods including cakes, bookmarks, Backgammon and War Hammer, football, pre-loved toys, books, and jewellery. A raffle was also held, with the children using their own initiative to seek out prize donations from several Braunton businesses, as Sam explains.

“We were so impressed with the passion and dedication the children showed to the cause as well as the way they hosted this popular event in the glorious spring sunshine. In total, they raised over £1,000 for the Cuddle Appeal – a fantastic amount, for which we are immensely proud of them!”

Heidi Orton, Community Fundraiser at North Devon Hospice, shared how wonderful it was to see people of all ages playing their part to support the Cuddle Appeal so far. “The children at Caen did an amazing job of hosting a brilliant fundraising event and it was lovely to see how enthusiastic they were about the appeal,” said Heidi. “They are a credit to their school and I hope they inspire others to host their own fundraising event, no matter how big or small, to ensure we can bring precious moments of love and comfort to patients and families across North Devon at a time when it matters most.”

Over the coming weeks, other businesses and schools will be hosting activities and events to help support the hospice in their mission to bring the gift of a cuddle to everyone across North Devon who need it.

To make a donation to the Cuddle Appeal today or find out more about how you can get involved, visit northdevonhospice.org.uk/cuddle.