The Turkey Trot on the 3rd January 2010 is taking place at Barr Beacon, so will be of particular interest to all local residents in the Aldridge and Walsall wood area.

we want the whole community of Aldridge and Walsall to get behind the new hospice!

Start the New Year the way you mean to go on. Run, walk or jog that Christmas dinner off on our 5k route at Barr Beacon. Come along and bring the family to watch as you complete the course. All proceeds will go to help staff and equip the new Walsall Hospice

Arrive by 10am to take part in a warm up by David Lloyd's Gym. The run will start at 10:15am, with 2 laps of the course.

To register, via Walsall Hospice website please use the online registration form for adults, or download a paper version to send in with your registration fee of £5 per adult and £3 per child (under 16). Once you have registered you will be sent a fundraising and information pack containing details of the run, training suggestions and a sponsorship form so that you can get your friends and family to help Walsall Hospice too.

Contact details:
Rachel Ridler
Fundraising Assistant
Walsall Hospice
Bentley Health Centre
Churchill Road
Walsall
WS2 0BA
(01922) 423578
Walsall Hospice website

Work on £5.5m Walsall hospice starts in November 2009

Construction will begin on the £5.5 million Walsall Hospice which is expected to take 12 months to be completed. Building experts have been on site since the start of November to carry out preparation work ahead of the multi-million pound scheme. The work on the palliative care centre, which is being built on the old Goscote Hospital site in Goscote Lane, comes after a number of delays over contracts with the Healthcare Improvement Partnership which were only agreed recently. Gill Gregg, palliative care centre project leader for NHS Walsall, said: “We are really excited that the building work has begun and we are stepping closer to making our dream a reality. “I would like to thank the residents of Walsall for their continued support and look forward to providing them with a centre of excellence in return.” The development includes rehabilitation and specialist nursing with Macmillan bereavement and counselling services. The palliative care centre will have 12 inpatient beds and a day hospice for 20 patients and outpatients. Currently Walsall patients travel to St Giles Hospice, near Lichfield, or Compton Hospice, Wolverhampton. However, around £1.5 million of funding is needed to help equip the hospice with the first-class facilities it needs. 1,000 people attended Walsall Arboretum in September 2009 for the inaugural Starlight Walk event to raise £20,000 towards the running costs. Streetly songbird Connie Talbot and BBC radio presenter Joanne Malin were among the event supporters.