David Gold opened his home in Caterham on 9th October 2019 to host an exclusive event for local philanthropists and supporters of St Catherine’s Hospice, a charity providing end of life care and support to terminally ill people and their families across Crawley, Horsham, East Surrey and Mid Sussex.
David has been opening his garden for St Catherine’s open gardens scheme for a number of years, raising almost £30,000. On hearing about the local charity’s appeal to build a brand new, state-of-the-art hospice in Pease Pottage, David and his fiancée Lesley were moved to show their support and kindly agreed to help the hospice by hosting this event.
David Gold said: “As a local resident, I have always had a place in my heart for St Catherine’s hospice, supporting them every year at my garden open day to which we invite the public. When I heard that they are working to build a new, bigger hospice, because currently they can only be there for 1 in 3 local people that need them, Lesley and I knew we wanted to help. My own mother died without hospice support, which is something I will never forget. Hosting the hospice’s event in our home and updating people on the progress of the fundraising for the new hospice was a pleasure. It was amazing to see the support from the local community and we saw once again just how crucial it is that we have a bigger hospice. Families should not have to struggle with life limiting illnesses alone; everyone should be able to get the wonderful support of St Catherine’s.”
Following drinks and canapés on arrival, guests heard speeches from David Gold and Nick Bell, Capital Appeal Director at St Catherine’s, before the key speaker, Patrick McIntosh, shared his story. Patrick is a local philanthropist and extreme fundraiser who has been raising funds for the new hospice by cycling from Twickenham to Tokyo.
For further information on St Catherine’s New Hospice Appeal, please visit: www.stch.org.uk/newhospice.