New fundraising walk gives Milton Keynes hospice a staggering £56k boost

More than 500 people - and one Starship delivery robot - raised a phenomenal £56,000 for Willen Hospice at the weekend.

The All New Moo - on Saturday (September 12) - was an adaption of the charity’s biggest fundraising event, The MK Midnight Moo, which had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.

The new event, which took place in the daytime, invited participants to walk, run or scoot five or 10 miles from their own homes and - if they wanted - leave a message for a loved one on a memory wall.

Taking part was Willen Hospice patient, Hen, 27, who was joined by her family.

Hen, who has a rare progressive neurological disease, completed a five-mile route around Willen Lake in her special electric wheelchair which she controls using her head - and raised almost £2,000 for the hospice.

Tracey Jago, Willen Hospice events manager, said: “I’m really pleased to say that the All New Moo was a fantastic success. Unlike our usual event, where people gather in large groups, to respect social distancing things were very different this year.

"While only much smaller groups passed by our cheer point, there was a great atmosphere at the cheer point and on the virtual Zoom party.

"It was also fun to see so many people all over Milton Keynes and the surrounding villages wearing 1920s outfits and ‘Moo’ vests, kindly provided by our headline sponsors, Specsavers Milton Keynes.

"We were really touched to see our local community rally together in our time of need, and raise over £56,000 for the Hospice. To put it into context, the money raised covers the cost of the annual salary for an in patient-unit Nurse and a ward hostess.

"The hospice needs to raise £4.7million a year, and although our MK Midnight Moo usually raises around £100,000 for the hospice, this extra boost in fundraising will really help us during a financially challenging year.”

Main sponsor Steve Moore of Specsavers Milton Keynes and Newport Pagnell, said, “It’s been a difficult year for them so we were honoured to do our bit and give back to the community.”