A two year charity partnership between The Dolphin Shopping Centre and Forest Holme Hospice in Poole has raised a total of nearly £33,000 to help fund and support local people across Poole, Wimborne and the Isle of Purbeck facing a life-limiting illness.

The Dolphin Shopping Centre choose to support Forest Holme as its Charity of the Year during 2020 but due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, extended it for a further year, helping the hospice to raise an extra £14,282 in 2021. During the past two years the hospice has been fundraising through its Remembrance Tree and Christmas Pop-Up Shop at Christmas, Spooky Scavenger Hunts at Halloween, as well as various awareness raising stalls and street entertainment bucket collections during the year. The Centre also generously sponsored the charity’s Dance Through The Decade event at the end of 2021.

Kirsty Perks, Fundraiser at Forest Holme, said, “We have really enjoyed working with The Dolphin Shopping Centre over the past two years and are very grateful that they extended our partnership because of Covid to help boost fundraising, which has been hugely affected by the pandemic.

John Grinnell, Lisa King and all the staff have been absolutely fantastic and we must also give a special mention to Suzy Wheeler at Strawberry Fields RePresents for organising all the Street Theatre. Our biggest thank you though goes to all the Dolphin Centre customers who have been so generous, even during these very challenging times.” 

Forest Holme is part of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust and is supported by the charity, which needs to raise at least £950,000 each year to help enhance the NHS provision at the hospice to deliver end of life care and support to more than 1,000 people each year with advanced cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.

John Grinnell, Centre Manager at the Dolphin Centre, said, “We are so lucky to have such a wonderful community here in Poole. From our street performers, to our many generous customers offering their donations, we’re absolutely blown away by the figure we’ve raised. Forest Holme Hospice is a fantastic organisation and we thoroughly look forward to continuing our support this year.”