Ghouls just wanna have fun! Stollers’ spook-tacular soiree smashes £20k for St Mary’s Hospice
A Halloween party organised by Barrow-based furniture store Stollers’ raised more than £20k for St Mary’s Hospice.
The event, which took place in Ulverston’s Coronation Hall, welcomed more than 200 guests, with a huge array of costumes.
Lee Stoller, who leads the fourth-generation family business, had organised the party to inject some fun back into socialising, following a difficult couple of years with lockdowns making mixing difficult.
Lee said; “After what has been undoubtedly a tough few years for so many, as a family, we decided we would hold an event that allowed our guests to let their hair down. As a family business our customers and suppliers are our friends, and we wanted to be able to all get together and have some fun. It was also a great chance to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice, who are our charity partner.
“You are always a little bit nervous with something like this — will people go all in and dress up? will enough people want to come? But the response was fantastic, and I was bowled over by the commitment people showed. The costumes were fantastic, and it was a great night.
“Our family business has operated in this area since 1905, so we’re very much part of the local community and, I think, as a local business it is important to support the community as much as you can. St Mary’s do a fantastic job providing care for people all over Furness. Most families in the area will have someone who has used their services, ours certainly has, and we know that by helping to support them, we can ensure they’re able to help others. The fact we were able to support them and have some fun at the same time is a recipe we’ll continue to follow.”
St Mary’s Head of Fundraising, Helen Carlson, said: “Our services are always free of charge to patients and their families, but of course they aren’t free to provide. We only get 22% of our funding from the Government — the rest we have to raise ourselves.
“That means that eight out of every ten patients we see has their care paid for by donations and voluntary contributions from our community. The Stoller family, especially Lee, have been great supporters for a number of years and we’re really privileged that they are our friends.
“Lee, his wife Catherine, Lisa (Stollers, Operations Manager and charity liaison manager) and indeed the whole team at Stollers worked really hard to put on an amazing event, and I can’t thank them enough. We know how tough times are right now for everyone, so to have a local company that is so supportive of a community asset is fantastic.”
