A community fundraising afternoon in Budleigh Salterton has raised more than £2,000 for Hospiscare.

'Wendy's Day' was held at St Peter's Church on Saturday, July 27 in memory of Wendy Jones, a much-loved local resident who died of cancer in 2020.  She was looked after by Hospiscare, and her husband Stuart wanted to raise money for the charity in gratitude for its support. The first 'Wendy's Day' took place in June 2022, and organiser Kim Holmes decided to repeat the event this year to give Hospiscare another funding boost.

Kim said: "The sun shone, and it was just wonderful.  We had loads of visitors come along, who all seemed to enjoy themselves. The atmosphere was special, lots of laughter and chatter.  The stalls were impressive, with really lovely things to sell."

The 'lovely things' included paintings by four Budleigh artists - Wendy Markham, Gill Wilson, Teresa Creton and Sue Sayer - who agreed to donate the money from their sales to Hospiscare. 

Kim said: "They were amazing and their artwork was spectacular, brightening up the room.

"The ladies who ran the kitchen worked so hard, selling a huge amount of hot dogs,  bacon rolls, cakes and drinks."

(Image: Kim Holmes)

At both Wendy's Days, Stuart Jones, who now lives at Pinewood Residential Home, has had his head shaved to help with the fundraising. This year the event also featured a Memory Board where people could post messages of remembrance for lost loved ones.

Kim said the success of the day was largely down to a team of volunteer helpers 'who never moaned once, just got on with all they had to do'.

She said: "Volunteers who help at events like these really work their socks off, and without their kindness and hard work, charities just couldn't survive."

Another star of the show turned out to be Kim's grandson, eight-year-old Jacob Tew. He turned up to help on the day and ended up taking charge of selling sweets at a stall run by his mother Annalease. 

After he served a member of the Exmouth fundraising team for Hospiscare, she was so impressed that she arranged for the charity to send him a card and a medal to thank him for his outstanding contribution to the day.

(Image: Kim Holmes)

Kim added: "I would like to say a big thank you to the shops for putting up our posters, and to the ones who got us sponsors, especially The Card Shop Too. To all the kind people who donated raffle prizes, and to the generous people who gave us items to sell.  Last, but not least, our thanks to everyone who came, who made the day so successful.  The people who bought refreshments and items, who played our games and entered the raffle, and to everyone who left a message on our Memory Board and donated cash to such a worthy cause."

She also thanked the Pinewood Residential Home, SJB Foods and Tesco for their support.

Kim said: "A huge thank you from Hospiscare, and a huge thank you to Hospiscare, for doing what they do.  We are so proud we are donating the £2,000 to them."