Shropshire’s biggest music festival was really on-song for our hospices this summer.

Held over the late-August Bank Holiday weekend, The Shrewsbury Folk Festival raised an incredible £15,000 with a range of kind initiatives.

Organisers make a donation for every adult ticket sold, held a bucket collection over the weekend, a chair creche, requested donations in return for charging mobile phones and even invited us to host a retail store in the popular craft village of the event at the DMOS People West Mid Showground.

The festival joined forces with us as charity partners in 2008, and a grand total of £128,500 has been raised over the years to help support activities such as music therapy sessions for children and families living with a life-threatening condition.

'Best Ever' Festival

Director of the festival, which attracts over 8,000 fans, Sandra Surtees said: “This is a staggering amount to have raised.

“We cannot thank our festivalgoers enough for their overwhelming generosity.

“Our event is based on the joy of music so it’s wonderful to be able to bring that to the children at Hope House through funding music therapy.

“This year was our best-ever festival, and this incredible fundraising total underlines that. Every year we hope to better what we did the year before and long may our successful partnership continue.”

Our fundraising and retail staff at the Hope House stall – picture by Richard Hammerton

Our fundraiser, Harriet Richards said: “We are always blown away by the generosity of both the festival organisers and the festival goers, but this year was even more outstanding.

“Every penny raised will help seriously ill local children to enjoy the gift of music during their respite short breaks at Hope House.

“Thank you so much to everyone involved for this priceless on-going support that will bring so much joy to so many children.”

Find out more about events and fundraising to support families at our hospices

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