Willen Hospice has thanked local builders who came to the rescue after the charity’s lakeside donation collection box was sadly vandalised just before Christmas.
After Willen Hospice and Thames Valley police posted about the incident on social media, the charity was overwhelmed with offers of help and support. One offer that the Hospice was delighted to receive was from the daughter of Dave Lewis, who originally built the collection box back in 1994. The Hospice got in touch with Dave and he was happy to come back, this time with his son, to rebuild the collection box for free.
The materials for the rebuild were kindly donated by Jamie Pedder from Next Generation Construction, and Smith Recycling donated a skip. Dave called upon his friends, Martin, Nick and Jake from C&L Roofing to fit a beautiful slate roof on the top of the collection box.
Dave said: “My daughter got in touch with Willen Hospice when she saw the post on Facebook about it being damaged. I was happy to rebuild it, and it was nice to help the Hospice for a second time, although it’s a shame that it was vandalised.”
Jamie from Next Generation Construction added: “Willen Hospice is a great cause. So many people are affected by cancer and other life limiting illnesses in some way. Many local people will need to use Willen’s services at some point, so it seemed fitting to supply the materials to help.”
Willen Hospice Chief Executive Peta Wilkinson said: “We had such an outpouring of support when the news broke that our collection box had been vandalised. The local community rallied together, and we’re so grateful to Dave, Jamie, Smith Recycling and the guys who came to our aid and very generously helped us to rebuild and return this important asset to its rightful place.”
Willen Hospice needs to raise £4.7million every year. Thanks to the donation of time and materials from Dave, Next Generation Construction and C&L Roofing, the money that would have been spent on repairing the collection box can now go towards delivering compassionate care to local patients and their families.
