Taking part in the Accumulator Challenge is all about having fun but it’s also about supporting your local hospice, creating awareness of the amazing work we do and engaging with the local community.   

A shining example of this are the 2023–24 winners of the Community Award: Caroline Cares for You. It was the first time the team had taken part in the challenge and they smashed it by raising £2,364 and impressed the judges so much that they were runners up in all award categories.  

Caroline Cares for You, based in Brackley, provides person-centred care to their clients with care at the heart of everything they do and they have close links to the hospice.  

Anne from the team said: "As a domiciliary care agency we work closely with Katharine House as some of our clients need end-of-life care. We love the work that the hospice does and we have seen first hand how clients are fully supported. So when we heard about the challenge we couldn’t wait to be involved."

Fun-filled four months

As a small team of 13, they crammed a lot into four months, including Christmas craft stalls selling homemade fudge, Christmas cake and knitted knee blankets. They also made homemade gifts for their clients and held a quiz night and raffle. 

The team had sustainability at the heart of everything they did by reusing old materials and even planting a tree in the National Forest to offset their carbon footprint. In keeping with the ‘reuse’ theme, they even opened a pop-up second-hand clothes shop in Brackley called The Preloved Parlour. It was a great way for the team to have a sort out and donate unwanted clothes to the shop, all while raising funds for the challenge total!  

Anne continued: "We’ve had tremendous fun as a team and it’s been a fantastic way to bring us all together. We didn’t realise how much talent existed between us!"

Award winning!

The team at Caroline Cares for You not only raised an incredible amount for the hospice, they also raised awareness across the community, which is why the judges awarded them the Community Award. It was a well-deserved award and the team are testament to how thinking outside the box and creatively fundraising can scoop your team an award.  

We hope you can join us this year and help us surpass the £31,000 raised in 2023–24!   

To find out more, contact the fundraising team at [email protected] or visit our Accumulator Challenge page.  

Do you think your team can take home the Community Award in the 2024–25 challenge?  

Register your team now!