The Myton Hospices’ volunteer ambassador and local boxer, Lewis Williams, exceeded the £20,000 target set for his ‘20 in 25’ fundraising campaign, raising an impressive £20,823 to support the charity’s vital services.
Lewis joined #TeamMyton earlier this year as a volunteer ambassador following the care his dad, Bob, received from the hospice’s Myton at Home team before he sadly died in January 2024. Inspired by the support his family received, Lewis pledged to raise £1 million for Myton throughout his boxing career, beginning with his ‘20 in 25’ campaign, which set out to raise £20,000 in his first year as ambassador.
Speaking about surpassing the target, Lewis said:
“I am absolutely blown away by the support. To think we’ve smashed the target within eight months is incredible. It’s down to all the amazing support from so many people. We’ve had a lot of fun raising the cash, and we know Myton and the team deserve every penny that can be raised. Thanks to all the sponsors, Cleary’s Gym and my supporters – I am incredibly grateful for everyone getting behind the campaign.”
Ruth Freeman, CEO at The Myton Hospices, added:
“We’d like to give a huge thank you to Lewis and everyone who has supported his campaign. We rely on the generosity of our community to provide our vital services to people who desperately need our care, and we couldn’t do it without people like Lewis. We can’t thank him enough for all of his support.”
The fundraiser that took Lewis over the £20,000 target was the ‘Together We Dance’ event, an evening of disco, family games and a live auction organised by his sister, Sophie, and his mum. The event attracted over 80 guests and raised £6,075. Highlights of the night included the sale of Lewis’ boxing gloves from his 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal fight to the highest bidder, and a “guess the total” competition with tickets to Williams’ next fight as the prize.
Lewis expressed his gratitude after the event, saying:
“It was brilliant seeing so many people come out for a good night supporting all the hard work done by my sister. She did such a great job and I can’t believe the total raised on the night!”
The Myton Hospices joins Lewis in extending thanks to local businesses, including The Welcombe Golf Club, Highams Butchers, Adventure Sports, Real Fitness and Warwick Castle, for donating auction prizes, and to Morrisons for providing food and refreshments. Myton’s lottery team attended the event too, signing up 15 new players, which could generate around £900 over the next year.
Other funds that contributed to the £20,000 target were raised through an auction at the NEC raising over £3,000 where a pair of signed Frank Bruno boxing gloves, kindly donated by The Installer Show, sold for £350. Lexus also made a generous contribution of £1,750 through the Toyota Community Fund. Lewis rallied support for Walk for Myton, entering a team that raised £5,150. He was joined on the day by young members of Cleary’s Gym and their families, whilst one of his sponsors, Baxi, also entered a team and helped promote the campaign.
Lewis remains determined to raise as much as possible in the remaining months of his ‘20 in 25’ campaign, ensuring even more people can access the care and support they need. He and his team have several exciting plans in the pipeline, and supporters are encouraged to keep an eye out for upcoming announcements.
The Myton Hospices would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Lewis and every person who has supported the campaign so far. As a charity, The Myton Hospices must raise £12.7 million this year to continue providing its services free of charge to people and families across Coventry and Warwickshire, with only 17% of its funding coming from the NHS.
Support from Lewis’ ‘20 in 25’ campaign will help ensure that people can continue to access the expert, compassionate care they need and deserve, now and in the future. The charity looks forward to seeing what Lewis achieves next as he continues his remarkable fundraising journey.
Find out more about Lewis’ ‘20 in 25’ campaign and donate online at www.mytonhospice.org/Lewis
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At The Myton Hospices we believe that everyone matters for every single moment of their life; we focus on enhancing life when cure is no longer an option. We are not just about end of life care, we support patients and their loved ones right from the moment they are diagnosed.
We have three hospices in Coventry, Rugby and Warwick, and we care for people aged 18+ living with a wide range of life-limiting illnesses including Respiratory, Heart & Neurological conditions, Cancer and Organ failure.
At Myton, demand for our Inpatient Units has increased by 11% in the last 12 months, and too many people are dying on the waiting list for this vital service. As the only provider of Hospice Inpatient Beds in Coventry and Warwickshire, we are acutely aware of the need for more, but are limited in what we can provide due to funding constraints.
We are a charity, we are not the NHS, and we have to raise £12.7 million of the £15.3 million it costs this year to continue providing our services free of charge to patients and their loved ones. Just 17% of our funding comes from the NHS. We rely on donations and support from our local communities.
Find out more online at www.mytonhospice.org
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