£26,000 Raised by Memories by Moonlight
Children’s Hospice South West’s (CHSW) Memories by Moonlight virtual event has raised £26,000 for the charity that has seen a considerable drop in income due to the pandemic.
Memories by Moonlight was sponsored by National Friendly and was made into a regional, virtual event when the physical event usually held as a memory walk in Falmouth, Cornwall had to be cancelled this year.
The Virtual Memories by Moonlight event gave people across the south west the opportunity to remember their loved ones by either taking on their own memory walk or other activity, raising sponsorship in their loved ones name or simply making a donation in their memory.
Kurtis Reece, PR & Corporate Partnerships Executive from National Friendly said “This year has been wrought with challenges in particular for the charity sector. We had to adjust our approach and adapt to a new way of supporting CHSW, who rely upon local people fundraising and local businesses donating in order to support the need to develop a safe successful way to deliver an impactful virtual event.”
Jonathan Long, CEO at National Friendly said “We aim to make a fundamental difference to local lives within our community, even with the lingering threat of the coronavirus pandemic. Our sponsorship has contributed massively to the fantastic amount of money that has been raised to help provide vital support for children with life-limiting conditions and their families.”
A poignant memory ceremony was held on the evening of 26 September when supporters could watch the ceremony broadcast from CHSW’s Little Harbour hospice in Cornwall via facebook live. The ceremony included readings from all three of CHSW’s hospices, as well as stories from two families who had experienced respite stays, end of life care and bereavement support from CHSW. There was also music from Cornwall Rock Choir as well as a beautiful rendition of Field’s of Gold from Marcus Alleyne allowing time for reflection and for memory candles to be lit across the region. 
Over 360 people got involved in the virtual event and could watch the memory ceremony from the comfort of their own home so as to not miss out on the special event atmosphere usually created.
Kiley Pearce, Fundraiser for CHSW said "This year more than ever we felt it was really important to still provide people with the opportunity to join together, albeit virtually, to remember and celebrate the lives of their loved ones.
We were overwhelmed by the response to the memory ceremony on the evening and the amount of people who got involved and shared their stories with us.
We are so grateful to National Friendly for all of their support in promoting the event and of course raising much needed awareness of CHSW across the region.”
CHSW has continued to support hundreds of children with life limiting illnesses and their families across the south west through the pandemic. With their three children’s hospices open 24/7 for emergency stays and end of life care they have also introduced home visits and virtual support to families to enable them to continue having vital care and support from the charity when they need it most.