Raise pounds in your pyjamas for Hospiscare
Do you fancy an enjoyable morning run this autumn, raising money for a local charity in the stunning grounds of a National Trust country estate?
Would you like to run in your pyjamas – yes, your pyjamas! – all for a good cause?
If so, then the Hospiscare Breakfast Run at Knightshayes Court on 17th September could be for you!
The Breakfast Run is a no pressure 5k or 10k run, walk or jog with coffee and bacon bap available on your return to the Stables Kitchen (vegetarian alternative available).
People enter The Breakfast Run for many different reasons. For Amelie Foster, however, the decision to take part was determined by her own father’s experience with Hospiscare.
“I was initially surprised and frightened when I discovered that Dad’s GP had referred him to Hospiscare," she recalls. Her father had been ill for a while and she assumed the end must be imminent. It was not.
“Dad really struggled with the reality of his condition, the limitations it forced on him and the reality of his own mortality, but he found the Hospiscare Day Centre a place of peace and ease. The nurses that visited him at home had an unspoken understanding and offered compassion and empathy with their care and knowledge.”
Amelie was also extremely grateful for the support Hospiscare provided after her father’s death. “Although not unexpected, I was consumed by grief. I wasn't prepared for the emotional wrecking-ball that losing a parent would bring. It shook me to the core and felt all-consuming at times. My sister and I received fantastic support at times of worry, and after his passing the Hospiscare team’s words of kindness and support were genuine and profound. Our human instinct is to survive and when you’re faced with your mortality or the mortality of a loved one it’s soul destroying. The care and support provided by Hospiscare helped to ease the pain, soften the reality and take away the fear. Their unwavering kindness, not only to the patients but to the families, is so valued and needed.”
Amelie has also found preparing for the Breakfast Run was a great help. “I knew I needed to direct this negative energy and try to turn it into something positive, to look for something that I could focus on and do something to make me feel that Dad’s death wouldn't be in vain. The Breakfast Run appeared on my Facebook feed, literally days after Dad’s passing. I felt that maybe it was a little sign, having recently watched a documentary on the BBC of the benefits of running for mental health I saw an opportunity to raise money, run for my physical and mental health and do something positive. If I can raise enough to help Hospiscare to support a family the way we were supported then I’ll have achieved my goal.”
To hear more about Amelie’s story, go to:
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Amelie-Foster
Are you and perhaps some of your friends and family inspired by Amelie’s example to complete The Breakfast Run? Entry is only £17 per adult and £10 per child (under 16). Children of three years or under can join in for free. Enter on your own or as part of a group.
For more information on how to enter and gain sponsorship, phone Hospiscare on 01392 688020 or go to www.thebreakfastrun.co.uk.
Hospiscare is a local charity, providing free, high quality care and support to people with a progressive life-limiting illness, and those close to them, in Exeter, Mid and East Devon.
