Friends group raises £50k in 40 years of support

“It all started with a cup of coffee and a big idea!”

A fundraising group near Hull is celebrating after raising more than £50,000 for Martin House during the last 40 years.

The Cottingham Friends of Martin House was founded in 1984, helping the fundraising campaign to build the hospice – which opened in 1987 – and continuing to support it ever since.

It was the vision of Joan Isaac, who had recently retired as a senior paediatric nursing officer at Hull Royal Infirmary – and who wanted to support the plans for a hospice for children in Yorkshire, with the support of her sister Margaret. Helen Bristow has been part of the group since it formed, and took over running it when Joan and Margaret were no longer able to do so. She said: “Cottingham Friends of Martin House was the first friends’ group for the new hospice, and we were formed before the foundations of the buildings had been dug.”

Over the past four decades, the group’s dedicated volunteers have organised regular coffee mornings, as well as collecting money raised from other groups in the area and volunteering at the hospice. Since it formed, the group has sent £50,293.40 to Martin House.

Their legacy will continue to inspire future generations

Now, as Helen and fellow committee member Sheila Fisher have decided to step down, the group has held its final coffee morning, which marked its 40th anniversary. Helen added: “We’re so proud of everything we’ve achieved as a group, and we hope people will still support Martin House, through its shop in Beverley and by donating direct to the hospice.”

Michelle Ford, regional fundraising team manager at Martin House, said: “This is an incredible achievement from a dedicated group of volunteers, and we are so grateful to Helen, Sheila and everyone who has given time to the group for all their support for the hospice. It costs around £10.5 million a year to run Martin House, and we rely on the support of our community for around 80 per cent of that, so groups like Cottingham Friends’ are vital to help us be there for families when they need us most.”