The team at Katharine House are always delighted to hear that a local business has chosen us as their charity to support and we are always excited to see what they get up to. Walraven in Banbury have been supporting the hospice for many years and the team are a shining example of how a business and the staff can support us in various ways.  

Since 2015, the team has raised over £8,000 for the hospice, which could pay for 16 days of care for a patient in our inpatient unit at Katharine House. Sarah from Walraven said:  

"Katharine House Hospice is such an important resource for specialist palliative care in this region, not only through its inpatient services, but also through its extensive work within the community helping those with life-limiting illness.  

"Walraven Ltd is part of a family owned international company, who, since its very beginning over 80 years ago, wholeheartedly believes in giving to the community in which it operates.  

"For us in Banbury, this is done in many forms, but the one closest to our heart is Katharine House Hospice, who we are so proud to support. The care and kindness extended to the community by all those who work or volunteer for the hospice is second to none, and we are honoured to help this to continue in any way we can."

Walraven's fundraising challenges

The Walraven crew are long-term fundraisers and often have employee fundraising events in which all the staff can get involved and have fun, all while raising vital funds for the hospice. They have organised bake sales and packed out quiz nights!  

However, they don’t always play it safe and the staff love to take on a challenge too! They have taken part in the 10-mile Moonlight Walk around Banbury twice and, in May 2024, Richard, Adam and James will be taking on the Banbury Triathlon, which includes a 750m swim, 20km bike ride and a 5k run. 

Sponsorship opportunities

As a business, Walraven also help to support the hospice via corporate sponsorship. Over the years the business has generously sponsored The Rose magazine, our popular Christmas cards and more recently a mile at the 2022 and 2023 Moonlight Walk. The staff supported the sponsorship at the Moonlight Walk and embraced the ‘Back to the Movies’ theme! The walking members of the team dressed up as characters from the film Dodgeball.

And other members of the team set up camp on mile one, creating a Jurassic Park-themed mile! The walkers were treated to giant dinosaurs and park keepers as they walked through the Jurassic jungle … helping to keep up the spirits of the walkers as they embarked on the 10-mile walk!

 

Valuable volunteers

The staff also help us with volunteering throughout the year, at collection days and also at our Christmas Wrap at the Castle Quay in Banbury. We are also delighted to have them volunteering in our garden in 2024 to help our dedicated volunteer gardening team and we hope they will pick up some green fingered tips along the way. Some of the volunteers joined us at our first ‘Volunteer Christmas Mix & Mingle’ event in December 2023 – it was lovely to thank them in person, along with our other amazing team of volunteers.  

A massive thank you!

We are incredibly grateful to everyone at Walraven for all their support over the years and we love that all the staff get involved in different ways. The business ensures that all the staff have an opportunity to participate, whether it be baking or eating a cake, taking part in a quiz or a challenge, or giving something back via volunteering.  

If your business has chosen to support Katharine House then we hope that Walraven’s story has inspired you!  

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