Fun in the Sun at Oakhaven’s Family Fun Day

Oakhaven Hospice’s Family Fun Day on Saturday 29th June welcomed supporters from across the New Forest, Totton and Waterside area, with over 1,000 people attending during the course of the day. The popular annual event has raised over £20,000, all of which will help to fund the hospice’s running costs.

Oakhaven’s traditional summer fête had something for all the family - classic car displays, an animal farm, a bubble show, games, raffles, tombolas, inflatable fun and of course plenty of preloved treasures in the Oakhaven pop-up shop and ‘bric-a-brac alley’!

Oakhaven’s Head of Fundraising, Melanie Stone, said: “We would like to thank everyone who came along to our Family Fun Day. It was great to see so many people enjoying a traditional summer fayre in the sunshine. Many thanks to everyone who donated or baked items for us to sell or use as prizes.

“In particular we would like to thank our headline sponsor, John D Wood & Co, and the other local businesses that supported the event as stand sponsors: The Gun Inn Keyhaven, Parker Bullen Solicitors and The Highfield Company.”

Demand for Oakhaven’s specialist services grows each year. Last year the hospice cared for 1,400 patients and supported over 3,200 local people who visited the Coates Centre to benefit from wellbeing and bereavement support.

It costs £8 million* each year to fund Oakhaven’s services. Yet just 11% of Oakhaven’s funding is covered by the NHS, for the remaining 89% the charity relies on your kind donations, fundraising, gifts in wills and income from the Oakhaven charity shops and social enterprise Oakhaven Care Ltd.

However, like many other hospices in the UK, the current cost-of-living crisis is having a highly detrimental effect on Oakhaven’s ability to generate sufficient income to cover day-to-day running costs. According to Hospice UK's quarterly financial benchmarking survey, the UK hospice sector, which supports 300,000 people annually, is facing a collective estimated deficit of £77 million in the financial year 2023-24.

Oakhaven is currently in the process of shaping its strategy for the next 5-10 years and welcomes you to spend a few minutes of your time completing a survey. Your opinions and feedback will help your local hospice to understand the depth of awareness of Oakhaven and the important services its teams provide. Your input will help Oakhaven Hospice to ensure that it is meeting the future care needs of families living in the New Forest, Totton and Waterside communities. To complete the survey please visit www.oakhavenhospice.co.uk/survey

To find out more about how you could help Oakhaven with a donation, fundraising or a gift in your will, please click here, or contact the Fundraising Team directly on 01590 677773 or fundraising@oakhavenhospice.co.uk.

*All figures refer to the period April 2022-March 2023.