High Sheriff’s charity concert raises £20,000

Around £20,000 was raised for St Catherine’s Hospice at a charity concert hosted by the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Jonathan Lucas.
From L-R Simon Turpitt, St Catherines Hospice Chairman, Caroline Lucas, Jonathan Lucas, High Sheriff of West Sussex, Andrew Bernardi, musician, Revd Rupert Toovey, event sponsor and Peter Jennings, Fundraising and Marketing Director at St Catherines Hospice. SUS-150403-105409001From L-R Simon Turpitt, St Catherines Hospice Chairman, Caroline Lucas, Jonathan Lucas, High Sheriff of West Sussex, Andrew Bernardi, musician, Revd Rupert Toovey, event sponsor and Peter Jennings, Fundraising and Marketing Director at St Catherines Hospice. SUS-150403-105409001
From L-R Simon Turpitt, St Catherines Hospice Chairman, Caroline Lucas, Jonathan Lucas, High Sheriff of West Sussex, Andrew Bernardi, musician, Revd Rupert Toovey, event sponsor and Peter Jennings, Fundraising and Marketing Director at St Catherines Hospice. SUS-150403-105409001

Mr Lucas is supporting St Catherine’s during his year in office, which ends next month. On Friday (27th February) he hosted an evening of music with his wife Caroline, as his “swan-song” event.

The concert celebrated his year as High Sheriff and raised vital funds for St Catherine’s, which provides free care and support to terminally ill people across Sussex and Surrey.

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It was held at The Music Room at Champs Hill, near Pulborough and featured Andrew Bernardi, playing a 1696 Stradivarius violin, and his orchestra of virtuoso musicians. Funds raised were boosted by an auction, which was overseen by Revd Rupert Toovey, whose fine art, antique and valuation company Toovey’s had generously sponsored the event.

Mr Lucas said: “The evening of music was a huge success, with everyone having a fantastic time whilst raising much needed funds for St Catherine’s.

“None of us know when we might need the support of our local hospice, so as a long-term supporter of St Catherine’s I am delighted to have helped in my year as High Sheriff, ensuring that local people living with a terminal illness receive St Catherine’s extraordinary care”.

Giles Tomsett, Chief Executive at St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “On behalf of everyone at St Catherine’s I would like to thank Jonathan and Caroline for a fantastic evening and for raising such a huge amount of money for us.

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“Each year we need to raise over £6 million to provide our free care across Sussex and Surrey, so their kind support really does make a difference to the lives of those we care for”.

Anyone can support St Catherine’s by volunteering for us, donating, or taking part in one of our events. You can find more information about any of these things by going to www.stch.org.uk

Report and picture contributed by St Catherine’s Hospice.