Bank Staff Go The Extra Mile For Northampton Hospice

7/7/09

Tired limbs and sore feet were forgotten when staff from a Northampton bank raised thousands of pounds for a hospice in the town.

Staff from the Yorkshire Bank Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) took part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge to boost the funds of The Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Kettering Road and the nationwide Help the Hospices charity.

Katy Billings, Tim Stringfellow, Joanne Cattermole, David Lett and managing partner Andy Ashton were joined by Coventry colleagues Jon Evans and Stevie Lewkowicz along with friends and family in the 25 mile trek.

The arduous challenge involved walking up and down the three highest peaks in Yorkshire - Pen-y-ghent (691m), Whernside (728m), and Ingleborough (723m).

Katy, who works at the Northampton FSC in Waterside Way, said £3,549 was raised which Yorkshire Bank is matching.

“I climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdonia ten years ago but I thought this was much harder,” she said.

“Everybody went at their own pace and eight of us completed it within 12 hours. I think everybody thought it was harder than they imagined it would be but the sense of achievement was massive.

“Some of my colleagues are considering doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge again later in the year just for fun!

“Our target was to reach £3,000 so we would like to thank all our sponsors for helping us to pass our goal by quite some way by reaching £3,549.

“Half of the total will go to Help the Hospices which is Yorkshire Bank’s official charity this year and half will go to The Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice plus Yorkshire Bank have matched the total money we raised which all goes to The Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice so this will really make a difference to cancer patients in Northampton.”

Sue Bownass, community fundraiser for Cynthia Spencer Hospice, added: “Hospices are very special places, as many of us already know. We are very fortunate in Northampton to have our own Cynthia Spencer Hospice. Though small in structure, it is a place overflowing with love and care and has a reputation of which we are all very proud.

“It never ceases to amaze us the lengths our supporters go to raise funds for our hospice. We rely on the generosity of local companies like Yorkshire Bank to help maintain the services that we offer which are needed at a time when people need it most.

“All money raised from this event will go directly to patient care and the staff at Yorkshire Bank can be proud to have contributed to ‘Helping us to Help others’.”

Help the Hospices is the official charity partner of Yorkshire Bank and its sister organisation Clydesdale Bank and is the leading charity supporting hospice care throughout the UK. They want the very best care for everyone facing the end of life. In the first year, staff at both banks have raised £390,000 for Help the Hospices and local hospices throughout the UK. All monies raised for Help the Hospices are matched pound for pound by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.