events roundup

We’ve never had such a varied event’s calendar than in 2019 and, no matter what the challenge, so many of you were there to help raise money for T ˆy Hafan and have a whole lot of fun along the way.

the most magical weekend around

Since our last update, Tˆy Hafan went to Disneyland Paris for their incredible RunDisney weekend where participants could take on their choice of 5Ks, 10Ks and/or half marathons. Katie Bonnè saw the weekend as the perfect challenge to celebrate her one year anniversary as a Tˆy Hafan nurse, a role she had “fallen in love with…and was already thinking of ways I could help raise more money for our hospice”.

“At 6:30am on 22 September, I found myself at the start line for a thirteen-mile race thinking to myself ‘yeah... I should have trained for this’.

“Over the next few hours, I experienced every possible emotion there is. To begin with it was exhilarating, we were running through the parks being cheered on by Disney characters and staff members. We even ran through Sleeping Beauty’s castle whilst the fountains were on, it was truly magical and I felt like I could run forever - until I got to the 9K marker. I wasn’t even half-way and I was already contemplating giving up, I had never felt so defeated - but then I reached the 12K marker. There were different Disney characters for every marker and this one was ‘Lilo and Stitch’. A young lady we recently cared for loved Lilo and Stitch and I had promised her I’d keep an eye out for them on my trip. Whether it was a sign or not, something clicked and I remembered why I was doing this and who I was doing it for. I was doing it for all the families I had met over the year, all the children I had fallen in love with.

“Just before we left for Paris the family of this young lady had thanked us for everything we had done for her, but the truth is, it’s us that feel thankful. She was an incredible young lady and it was an honour to be a part of her life. Our motto at Tˆy Hafan is ‘making a short life a full life’ but it’s our lives these kids touch and change forever. Running a few more miles didn’t even compare to the battle these families faced daily.

“By the 13K marker I had vomited and was starting to feel very lightheaded but I came across yet another sign. The father of a little girl we cared for earlier in the year had given me her bunny rabbit to run with. As I passed this marker, a runner appeared in front of me with the name of this little girl on her t-shirt. I became even more determined than ever and by some miracle, I eventually reached the 19K marker. This was when I started getting emotional, apparently this is normal but I couldn’t hold back the tears and cried solidly for a good ten minutes until I reached the 20K marker! Suddenly I had half a mile to go and I couldn’t believe it. I had one last burst of energy and ran as fast as I could, all the way to the finish line. I felt euphoric.

“I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life. They were lying when they said ‘every mile is magic’ but I already can’t wait to do it all over again! It was so well organised and when we weren’t running we were exploring the Disney parks and watching the parades or fireworks. Myself, my cousin Abi and my colleague Layla (who ran the 10K race) can’t recommend this event enough. Not only did we get medals that put all other medals to shame but we have raised over £3,800 between us.”

lights, camera, action

The T ˆy Hafan annual ball is always a wonderful evening filled with special guests, supporters, families and stellar entertainment, but this year’s ‘Lights, Camera, Action’ ball raised a whopping £96,486, three times our fundraising target, all in support of our hospice refurbishment project.

James Meacham, one of our bereaved dads, spoke about his son, Thomas, who we cared for at Tˆy Hafan, and all about the support James and his family received from us. The audience learned how Thomas, who loved karate, rock climbing with his dad and walking his Labrador, was a healthy young boy up until he was eight years old. But then everything changed and Thomas died in June with Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) - a rare and incurable condition that affects the white matter of the brain, causing deafness, blindness, and physical weakness.

James’ account of Thomas and the life-changing care he received at T ˆy Hafan completely struck the room. The guests fell silent as everyone listened to James’ every word. Despite having to take some deep breaths, James captured the audience with his honesty and humour, and as the speech ended, every person in stood up, giving James a much-deserved standing ovation. This was the turning point in the evening when everyone wanted to do everything they could to raise money for T ˆy Hafan in Thomas’ memory.

Another highlight on an evening full of them was the performance of Alfie Jones, a Tˆy Hafan sibling. Earlier this year he won a competition to sing at the Butterfly Ball in London (for Caudwell Children), singing alongside the likes of Leona Lewis and Chaka Khan. We felt very lucky to have him perform at the ball. He sang a magical rendition of ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Misérables which was certainly a highlight of the evening (and a tear-jerker!)

Thank you to everyone who made the evening such a success, from compare for the evening, Claire Hingott, Tˆy Hafan ambassador Mark Colbourne MBE, London-based soul and Motown band ‘All That Soul’ who brought glitz, glamour and timeless live music and every one of our kind guests for their support.

a new year’s day dip

You’d be forgiven for taking your time emerging from bed the morning after the night before, perhaps nursing a sore head after last night’s New Year celebrations.

But hundreds of brave souls decided to blow away the cobwebs by plunging into the New Year at our Barry Island New Year’s Day Dip.

With temperatures at just seven degrees, over 2,000 people gathered on Barry Island Beach to take a dip in the sea and raise much-needed funds for Tˆy Hafan.

This was our second year running the event, having being handed the reins by Barry local and lifeguard, Rob Salter, who founded the event 36 years ago. The event has since grown in fame and popularity and now thousands of people brave the chilly channel waters annually on 1 January, many still following with the usual ‘rules’ – run in, dunk three times and run out, then repeat two more times!