The Friends of Lewis-Manning Wimborne hosted their first event on Saturday, a coffee morning at Church House in Wimborne with books, bric-a-brac and raffle, and raised £425 for the hospice.
The group, formerly known as EWE (Events with Effects) Group, meets monthly at The Olive Branch, Wimborne, and was set up last September. They hope that this is the first of many more successful events for the group.
Lewis-Manning community fundraiser, Louise Jones, said, “The idea of ‘Friends of Lewis-Manning’ is simply to encourage people in the community, of all ages and backgrounds, to enjoy an informal get-together, meet new people, have a fun and help a local worthwhile cause.”
It was opened by Sue Cook, Deputy Major of Wimborne, who bought the first coffee and cake, while Radio Wimborne also popped along and interviewed Sue and Louise. As well as raising £425, they also collected two cars full of donations for its Wimborne shop and three people signed-up to the group. Louise, added: “The Wimborne group is hopefully the first of many in the area and everybody is welcome and we’d love to see some more new faces.”
Lewis-Manning is based in Poole and gives free care and support to local people with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. The hospice covers East Dorset, which includes people living in Wimborne and as far north as Blandford. The charity also has seven shops including Wimborne, Blandford and Ferndown as well as Poole, Ashley Cross, Westbourne and Broadstone.
The Wimborne branch’s next meeting will be at The Olive Branch on Monday 7th March at 6pm. Anyone interested in joining can contact Louise Jones on 01202 708470 or email louisej@lewis-manning.co.uk or they can simply come along to the meeting.
