Children’s hospice charity benefits from wheel deal
Shopping for a friend’s birthday present at Princesshay Shopping Centre in Exeter generated a lovely surprise for the giver – a new vehicle worth nearly £24,000.
Gina, 45, a customer service advisor from Exmouth, paid £2 for the Children’s Hospice South West’s charity draw, with the Toyota C-HR donated by Snows Toyota in Exeter.
The mother-of-two said: “I saw the model on display at Princesshay and bought the draw ticket on a whim after shopping for a friend’s birthday present.
“I don’t do the lottery or anything like that – and I didn’t tell my husband as he would have wound me up, constantly teasing me that I’d won.
“He couldn’t actually believe it when I received a letter from the charity a few weeks later to say that there was some ‘exciting’ news for me – followed a few hours later with a text to confirm that I had won the Toyota C-HR.
“The timing couldn’t have been better as my garage had run me to say that my family car, which I had for 13 years, required expensive repairs.”
Raymond Lang, General Sales Manager at Snows Toyota in Exeter, said: “It was our pleasure to donate the Toyota C-HR, a superb crossover sport utility vehicle, to raise funds for Children’s Hospice South West.
“We’re grateful to Princesshay Shopping Centre for the display space and to the incredible work done by Children’s Hospice South West.”
A total of £17,000 was raised.
There are three hospices run by the charity, in North Devon, North Somerset and mid-Cornwall, which provide palliative care and respite for youngsters with life-limiting conditions and their families.
Snows Toyota in Exeter also donated £25 for each showroom test drive of the Toyota C-HR, when the booking came via the shopping centre placement.
Laura Robertson, Community Fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West, said: “It was certainly a lovely surprise for Gina – few of us could imagine winning a vehicle while popping out to the shops.
“Significantly, the thousands of pounds raised by the generosity of Snows Toyota in Exeter and the many raffle entrants will benefit the tireless work by the dedicated teams at Children’s Hospice South West.”
Andy Littlejohns, Princesshay’s operations manager, said: “This is an inspirational example of local businesses joining forces to raise much-needed funds for a special charity in our community.”
Children’s Hospice South West was established 26 years ago by Eddie Farwell and his late wife Jill, following their own experiences with two life-limited children who used Helen House in Oxford, the world’s first children’s hospice.
C-HR stands for Coupe-High Rider.
To find out more about the marque from Snows Toyota in Exeter, please click: https://www.snowsgroup.co.uk/toyota/contact-us/exeter/
