One of Worcestershire’s most popular music festivals has raised more than £12,400 for a local charity this year.
Woo Fest – which returned to The Drum and Monkey pub, near Upton-upon-Severn on Saturday 7 July – smashed its previous record of raising £10,008 in 2017 for St Richard’s Hospice.
This was the festival’s fourth year with more than 500 festival goers attending the family friendly event. It was the second year running that the festival boasted two stages, which allowed for continuous music throughout the event.
The festival is unique in that 100 per cent of the proceeds from the festival are donated to the hospice as sponsors, volunteers, bands and technicians provide their time and equipment for free.
The event – which is organised by Luke Simons – from Northwick – his sister Ria Simons and a committee of family and friends – was set up in memory of Luke and Ria’s father John Simons, a local engineer, who was cared for by the hospice before he died in 2013, aged just 66 years.
Luke Simons explained : “We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of all our supporters who make Woo Fest happen. We are so grateful for all those who make it happen from the bands and engineers through to all the volunteers who get involved and the venue itself. It is fabulous news that we have raised more than £12,400 this year, something that we never thought would happen! Thank you everyone so much!”
Charlie Homer, Fundraiser at St Richard’s Hospice said : “We are so delighted for Luke and the team; they have yet again made Woo Fest an outstanding success. Their dedicated support and continued generosity is something we are so grateful for. The money they raise year on year has such a positive impact on our ability to continue to deliver bespoke and individual care for both our patients and their families in Worcestershire.”
Luke concluded : “Woo Fest exists because of St Richard’s Hospice. Our personal experience of the hospice is nothing short of uplifting so we’d like to say a big thank you to all the staff who look after our loved ones when they need it most.”
The organisers would like to thank the event’s main sponsors, Spirit Executive, Diamond Windows and Roberts & Egan estate agents as well as all other local businesses who support the event.
St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative and end of life care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and supports their loved ones. Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,300 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
The hospice strives to provide the best medical, practical, emotional and social support they can to help people live life to the fullest, as independently as they can, for as long as they can. They care for people with a range of illnesses including heart failure, Parkinson’s, and motor neurone disease as well as cancer.
St Richard’s is an independent charity and relies on donations for three quarters of its annual £8.8m income with the remainder from the NHS.
St Richard’s has launched the Build 2020 Appeal which aims to raise the final £1.4m needed to build a bigger hospice, enabling more patients and families to be cared for in Worcestershire. The total cost for expanding and redeveloping the existing building in Wildwood Drive, Worcester, is £5.3m.
For more information about St Richard’s Hospice visit: www.strichards.org.uk.
