By Sam Ward
Well, talk about a baptism of fire – straight back from Maternity leave and there I am walking across hot coals a week later. The things we do for Wildwood! Well, actually this was for Wildwood’s on-going 25-year celebrations, whereby the team have been challenged to do 25 celebratory things, including raising lots of money for charity.
Being brave souls, myself and Becky (Digital Marketing Manager) took part in the St Catherine’s Hospice Firewalk, which involved walking across burning hot embers (with a temperature of 650°C) with our poor bare feet. Yes, our actual skin…on top of fire. With just one hour of training prep, we headed into Horsham town centre and strutted our stuff on the coals in front of a cheering crowd and to the soundtrack of The Proclaimer’s ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)’. We did it! Twice! (Wildwood folk are made of strong stuff).
St Catherine’s Hospice in Crawley is at the heart of our community and provides care for patients on the Inpatient Unit and out in the local area. The Hospice also supports families with bereavement through its Out-Patient and Family Support team. The facility means an awful lot to the team at Wildwood, many of us who have experienced having a loved one cared for there.
*UPDATE: With charity fundraising events cancelled nationwide due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, St Catherine’s Hospice (and all local hospices) really needs as many donations as possible. Please consider a small donation to your local hospice to help them through this unprecedented crisis.
Thank you so much to everyone who supported and sponsored us so far, we have raised just over £500. There is still time to donate: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/wildwood-firewalk
Sam x
Senior Account Manager – Wildwood