STAFF at Mole Avon Trading Limited are delighted to have raised over £46,000 for local charity Hospiscare.

The money was presented to Glynis Atherton, Hospiscare Chief Executive and John Arnold, Corporate Fundraiser at Mole Avon’s annual dinner and dance held recently.

The final total raised for the Mole Avon Ruby Appeal was a massive £46,424.97.

This was achieved through a huge range of fundraising events including fashion shows, numerous cake sales and tombolas, bingos and quiz nights, a craft fair, car boot sales and jumble sales, harvest suppers, a ploughing match, pleasure cruises, a sky dive, ladies and mens walks, a trek across the Sahara desert and many, many more.

The Mole Avon Ruby Appeal was launched last year to celebrate 40 years trading with a target to raise £40,000 for Hospiscare - £1,000 for each year Mole Avon Trading Limited had been in business.

Mole Avon chose Hospiscare to support as it is a charity which has touched members of staff, customers, suppliers and their families alike.

Additionally it is a charity with a perfect geographical fit with Mole Avon’s trading area.

Hospiscare needs to raise more than £4m each year to continue to provide its free of charge services to people with life-limiting illnesses in Exeter, Mid and East Devon.

“I was thrilled to receive a cheque for the amazing figure of £46,424.97 from Mole Avon.” says Glynis Atherton, Hospiscare Chief Executive, “This sum represents two years of fundraising by the company’s staff and we are incredibly grateful for their hard work and dedication.

"This sum buys 1,857 hours of high quality wraparound care for people who are nearing the end of their lives; but as importantly it buys peace of mind for carers and families and precious time for them to be with loved ones whose symptoms are being managed by experts.

"I think everyone who works for Mole Avon should be very proud of what they have achieved and I thank them for being so generous”.

Mole Avon would like to thank all their staff, friends, family and customers who have supported the company in its Ruby Appeal and helped them raise such a fantastic amount.

“We are delighted to have not only reached our target, but to have exceeded it by quite a lot.

"We would not have been able to do this without the hard work and dedication of the staff at all our sites – the three Mole Avon Town & Country Stores, Town & Countrywear, Mole Avon Forecourt and our Central Administration office.” says Richard Billson, Mole Avon Chief Executive. 

“We have also had amazing support from our customers, friends and family and suppliers who have been happy to support such a worthy local charity.”

John Arnold, Hospiscare Corporate Fundraiser adds “I would like to thank Mole Avon staff at all their branches who have done an amazing job raising this fabulous sum.

"They’ve been a dream to work with and just gone ahead and organised a tremendous variety of fundraising events over the last two years with very little input from Hospiscare.

"We are very dependent on support from the local community and partnerships with businesses like Mole Avon ensure we can continue making a difference for over 2,000 patients and their families each year."