For the past seven years, local mother of two Michelle Vanlint has held fundraisers for Haven House Children’s Hospice, with her most successful Cake Sale raising a total of £1300 for the charity.

 

Haven House Children’s Hospice cares for children up to 19 years old, who have life limiting or life threatening conditions, and gives their families much needed support, holding sessions for families to attend, and providing siblings of the children with a “buddy” to help them overcome the difficult times facing them. The hospice even continues to support the families after their child’s death, holding an annual “Light up a Life” ceremony, to which all families are invited. Haven House is based at the White House on High Road in Woodford Green, IG8 9LB.

 

 

Why do you fundraise for Haven House Children’s Hospice?

 


“Haven House Children’s Hospice is up the road from us, and it supports all the children who are suffering from life limiting illnesses; and they don’t get any funding from the government, so all the money that they need is raised through charity events. Also, I used to work there one day a week in their office, supporting the trust application officer, but since I’ve had paid work, I just do voluntary events for them... Bingo nights, cake sales... I participated in the Glo-Walk...  and because it’s for children, I find that lots of my friends who live locally are all willing to support it.”

 

 

How many people usually attend your events?

 

 

“I do a big cake sale every year, and usually about 80 or 90 people come, and we raise anything from between £830 to £1300.”

 


What is the event that you are holding tonight?

 

 

“Tonight is a sort of social evening for my friends, but we’re doing a raffle to help support Haven House, and I find because I do things frequently, I do get quite a lot of support from friends. They donate prizes like chocolates, unwanted birthday presents, cakes and stuff like that that I can use in a raffle.”

 


How do you get people involved?

 


“I get loads of people involved locally because I used to be the treasurer of the local pre-school, so I know a lot of mums in the area, and I’m also on the PTA at my children’s school. So I have quite a big network of people that I know locally, so whenever I’ve got an event, I usually get it quite well supported... One of my friends down the road works for a TV company, and she often gives me prizes that I can use. Local businesses know me too, so they give me stuff to help.”

 

The guests all seem to enjoy the fundraisers too, giving praise to Mrs Vanlint’s events, in particular the annual cake sale:

 

“Her cakes are lovely. They taste amazing, and she always has so many...”
“Strawberries and cream, a glass of Pimms... Very nice in the summer.”
“I love her brownies...”

 


If you wish to help Haven House Children’s Hospice, look on their website, which contains more information on their services, events, and contact details: www.havenhouse.org.uk