Fire-walking, tattoos and head shaving for Shooting Star Hospice

by William Gadsby Peet

After the seeing the incredible work of Shooting Star Chase Hospice firsthand when her nephew was born, Sam Ginn is trying to raise £1,500 for them with some unique sponsored activities

The Shooting Star Chase Hospice is a children’s hospice charity caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families. The aims of this charity are summed up beautifully on its website:

"Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, we are here to make every moment count. We support families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care."

The charities support is free of charge to families and available 365 days a year. The care service includes two local hospices; Shooting Star House in Hampton, and Christopher’s in Guildford. It costs £10 million a year just to maintain the current level of care and only about 10% of that income comes from government funding, so the charity relies hugely on the generosity of the public to keep its services running.

One Surrey local who knows first hand the importance of the charities good work, is Godalming resident Samantha Ginn, whose sister Debbie recently benefited from the incredible postnatal care on offer at Christopher's.

"Before birth, we were told my nephew would have just hours to live due to a lack of development in several areas of his brain. However, on 5/5/16 little Gibson was born, a hefty 8lb 4oz and with a little help from some oxygen, a real fighter. Whilst he needed some mild pain relief and does sometimes struggle to breathe, Gibson is coming along really well and with the aid of a tube is having plenty of milk! After a few days in hospital, Gibson and his parents were transferred to the care of St Christophers Shooting Star Chase Hospice."

Happy family: Debbie, Grandma, Gibson and Sam

Inspired by the fantastic work of the staff and hospice, Samantha decided she wanted to set out on a mission to give something back to such an incredible charity.

"I wanted to raise money, but knew I'd need to stand out from the crowd and do something different to have the best chance of success. After looking on the fundraising website, my choice was made, and I swiftly signed up for a fire-walk for November 3rd in Chiswick. Since signing up, I have set several other challenges and my fundraising mission is only just beginning. If I can raise £500, I will get a tattoo of a Shooting Star Chase character and if I can raise £1500, I will shave off all my hair. I am also aiming to get 30 celebrity retweets and spread awareness for this amazing cause."

"The challenges I have set, are nothing in comparison to the challenges ahead for those in the care of the hospice, but with the support of Shooting Star Chase, that journey can be made with happy memories and essential care."

All donations toward the cause will go directly to Shooting Star Chase and any expenses will be covered by Samantha, including the cost of tattoo, fire-walk and hair shaving. So get involved people, wether it's a donation, a tweet or a Facebook share; she's using the hashtags #sgfirewalk #ssc and #letsgoviral to try and spread the word over social media and her twitter handle is @samantha_ginn. It would be great to see her achieve her £1,500 target, but it would be amazing if we can try and exceed it, so get donating, tweeting and Facebooking.

"Everyone at Shooting Star Chase has been blown away by Samantha’s dedication to fundraising for the charity. To our knowledge no one has ever pledged to get a tattoo of one of The Friendlies or shave off their hair if they reach a fundraising target and we are all astounded at her absolute commitment to the cause. As if taking part in the Fire Walk isn’t brave enough! And of course, as self-proclaimed leader of The Friendlies, Professor Popplepants will be delighted if he’s finally honoured in ink so he’s keeping everything crossed Samantha makes it to £500!"

Editors note: Sam has managed to raise £900 so far and has already got her Professor Popplepants tattoo, check it out:

“We’d encourage everyone to support Samantha, not just because she’s promised to do something truly bonkers, but because the funds raised will go a long way in helping Shooting Star Chase continue caring for children with life-limiting conditions like her nephew, and make a difference to the lives of families like her sisters in London and Surrey.”

The link to donate is: www.justgiving.com/Samantha-Ginn