A charity walk is aiming to go out with a bang by breaking through the £1 million barrier for the amount of money it has raised.
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Preparations are under way for the 13th and final Midnight Walk organised by Nightingale House Hospice in Wrexham.
Long-term supporters Village Bakery will once again be providing sausage rolls for all the walkers who take part in the walk on Saturday, June 15.
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The event starts and finishes at Llwyn Isaf in Wrexham at 10.30pm with registration from 8pm when there will be entertainment, including live music from a band called Rhythm Train.
The walkers can opt for either a six or a 10 kilometre route.
The man in charge of making the savouries at the Village Bakery also has a very personal reason for wanting to help the hospice.
Pie room manager Kerry Wilson knows first-hand how important their service is to families at a very difficult time in their lives.
He is now planning to take part in the walk himself and will be encouraging his colleagues in the pie room to join him.
Kerry explained: “I am very pleased we’re supporting Nightingale House in this way because a number of my family have been in Nightingale House, so it means a heck of a lot.
“My uncle Gareth Williams was diagnosed with throat cancer when he was in his early 50s. He was at home for a long time and in the end it got too much and he went to the hospice, and he didn’t come home sadly.
“It was a very emotional time for the family but it’s a fantastic place, a really fantastic place and the care they provide is absolutely second to none.
“Nightingale House is wonderful because it’s not just the patient who is given support but the whole family. They do a really important job to help people during the most difficult time in their lives
“The Village Bakery is a family-run, community-oriented company with deep roots in the Wrexham area so we’re very pleased to have this opportunity to help Nightingale House.”
Amanda Kinsey, senior events fundraiser at Nightingale House, said: “This year’s is a really poignant event for us because it is the final ever Midnight Walk.
“We opened it up to men in its 11th year which has had a really positive effect on the numbers taking part but, as with any event that is long-standing, it’s important to refresh now and again.
“We have decided that our supporters might like to do something a bit different, new and exciting and all will be revealed on the night about the new event for 2020 which will also coincide with the 25th anniversary of the hospice.
“Any sponsorship money that is raised will go directly into patient care at the hospice and we are about £25,000 short of the event raising £1 million since it was started 13 years ago.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed we can break through the £1 million barrier which would mean the event finishes on a high.
“We can’t do events like this without the support of the local community, local businesses like Village Bakery and our supporters.
“The Village Bakery has been absolutely fantastic. Each year they provide sausage rolls, as well as a cheese alternative, for the walkers when they finish and we would be lost without them.
“It makes a massive difference because everybody loves the sausage rolls and they look forward to it because they are absolutely delicious.
“We get people ringing up and asking if we’re still having the sausage rolls and when we say ‘yes’ they sign up straight away.
“All of this feeds into our fund-raising which is so important because we need more than £3 million this year to run the hospice of which we receive just 19 per cent in statutory funding.
“The local community and local businesses contribute to ensure the hospice is there for future generations should they need it.”
Village Bakery Managing Director Robin Jones said: “We are very proud to be able to help Nightingale House because it is a magnificent and much-needed service.
“The hospice is a charity that many Wrexham people hold very dear so we are always keen to do our bit to help them.”
