Love Finds a Way to Help Fund Guildford Children’s Hospice

Published on: 10 Feb, 2019
Updated on: 10 Feb, 2019

Old Style Dating Dennie Smith (left) with Shooting Star Chase Community Fundraiser Kirstie Barton

Dennie Smith, founder of online Old Style Dating, is celebrating the site’s Valentine’s Day first anniversary by launching a love challenge this month to raise funds for Guildford’s children’s hospice charity, Shooting Star Chase.

She has set up the “Have a Heart, Find a Heart” challenge, asking people who are looking for a serious relationship to join her site, with the profit from their membership for the first six months, to be donated to the charity that supports babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families.

Dennie said: “As a mother of four and a grandmother, I can’t imagine how the parents of the children supported by Shooting Star Chase cope. If Old Style Dating can make a small difference then we will.”

The money from just one sign-up could pay for materials to make hand and foot casts, precious keepsakes for bereaved families.

The qualified care team at the hospices in Hampton and Guildford add these castings to memory boxes used in ways, including working with siblings to help them capture their favourite memories of their brother and sister. These can then be a focal point of therapy sessions in the future

Kirstie Barton, community fundraiser at Shooting Star Chase said: “We’re so pleased to have the support of Dennie and Old Style Dating. As a charity, we need to raise £10 million a year to provide the much-needed care service, so we rely on the support of local businesses.

“This fundraising is a new and exciting one and we hope that people will support it. We’re very grateful to Dennie for choosing us as her charity.”

Aimee Royal, Shooting Star Chase’s communications officer, said the children’s hospice charity cares for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families throughout Surrey and across 15 boroughs of London.

“Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, we are here to make every moment count. We support families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.

“Our bespoke support is free of charge to families, and available 365 days a year. Our care service includes short breaks at our two hospices (Shooting Star House in Hampton and Christopher’s in Guildford), Hospice at Home, day care, symptom management, end-of-life care, bereavement care and a comprehensive range of therapies and support groups for the whole family.

“It costs £10 million a year just to maintain our current level of care. About 10% of our income comes from government funding, so we rely on our supporters’ generosity to keep the service running. What’s more, we know there are many more families desperate for our vital support, so it’s crucial we raise more funds to provide more care.”

The ‘Have a Heart, Find a Heart’ launches on Thursday 14 February, Valentine’s Day. To find out more visit www.oldstyledating.co.uk

For more information about the work Shooting Star Chase does to support families across Surrey and London, visit www.shootingstarchase.org.uk

For further information, spokespeople or high-resolution images, please contact Aimee Royle at aimee.royle@shootingstarchase.org.uk or 01932 823108