Wake Smith raises funds for Sheffield hospice in colleague’s memory

Generous staff, clients and friends of Wake Smith Solicitors have helped raised £7,280.40 for a Sheffield charity in memory of a well-loved colleague.

Employees at the Sheffield law firm chose St Luke’s Hospice as its good cause for the 2020-22 financial years in recognition of the invaluable care it gave to Helen Paul, who had worked as a conveyancer in the commercial property team at Wake Smith for more than 22 years.

The firm has spent 24 months raising cash through a host of events including A Million Steps Challenge, Virtual Christmas Lunch, Home Run Challenge, Dylan Friend’s Sky Dive, the Three Peaks Challenge and the Tough Mudder plus a staff quiz night, tuck shop, raffles, Great British Bake Off-style cake sales, sweepstakes and competitions, all during a difficult two years interrupted by COVID.

Kate Lax, solicitor at Wake Smith and charitable board member, said: “Every year staff at Wake Smith Solicitors vote for a good cause to support throughout the next 12 months. Employees are invited to nominate a local charity with particular importance to them and in 2020 it was St Luke’s Hospice.

“We all worked with Helen for many years and she is hugely missed by all of her colleagues. Supporting St Luke’s was the perfect way to honour Helen’s memory after it provided invaluable care to Helen and support for her family in her final days.

“We were one month into the fundraising when lockdown happened but we have continued trying to organise activities and encourage staff to fundraise...in fact, we have taken part in more external events to raise money, than ever before.

“The Charity Board would like say a massive thank you to everyone who donated and organised events and for their continued support.”

The substantial donation also means that since 2014 Wake Smith has raised almost £44,000 for deserving South Yorkshire charities.

Deserving local charities helped by Wake Smith over the past few years have included Thornberry Animal Sanctuary, Rotherham General Hospital Special Babycare Unit, Macmillan Cancer and Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.

The Wake Smith charitable board includes Kate Lax, Lorraine Slack, Bridie Cowgill, Laura Saul, Hayley Naisbett, Stephanie Chung, Dylan Friend, Sophie Kerry and Millie Vaughan.

Anna Gott, Fundraising Account Manager from St Luke’s, said: “We are so pleased that the Wake Smith team decided to support us in this way and that they managed to raise such an incredible amount for us.

“The range of activities they took part in demonstrated very clearly how much fun everybody can have while supporting a cause like St Luke’s.

“In our 50th anniversary year, it really is a fantastic result and one that will have a massive impact on the lives of all our patients and their families”.

St Luke’s aims to deliver the best possible palliative care for over 18s in Sheffield, whilst developing and driving continual improvements for everyone affected by terminal illness. All of its services are free. Just 30% of St Luke’s funding comes from the NHS, meaning it needs to raise more than £7 million each year.