On Friday 30 June, 1400 ladies walked the streets of Harrow and Brent as part of the hospice’s biggest event of the year, the Midnight Walk. Women covered themselves in luminous accessories and plenty of pink as they entered Harrow Leisure Centre to register. They enjoyed a fun warm-up and entertainment kindly given by AK Bollywood, Vincent De Lima and Shree Muktajeevan Swamibap Dhol Academy before setting off on there 5 or 9-mile challenge at the stroke of midnight.
The walk was officially started by one of the Founding Members and Chief Patron of the Hospice, Lord Dolar Popat. The grand launch was marked with Kingsbury Temple’s dhol players group and local Zumba groups to help with the warm up activities. The annual walk first started in 2008 and has been growing in size year on year ever since. Participants came together from all communities, backgrounds, abilities and ages to take part in a specially coordinated 5 and 9 mile walks around Harrow.
Speaking at the start of the walk at Bryon Hall, Harrow Lord Popat said, “St Luke’s is a local institution for the residents of Harrow and Brent. It is open to all and over the years activities such as this walk help to bring people of all communities together.”
“I am so pleased to see how well the local British Indian community has got involved with the Hospice. Thirty years ago when I helped start the Hospice we had to search for Indians to help us raise awareness. Today the community is at the forefront of supporting this local asset for the wider benefit of all communities.”
“Part of the role of activities like this is not just to fundraise, but to help raise awareness about the services the Hospice offers.”
The Hospice is currently open to everyone with an incurable illness, providing invaluable care, not just to patients, but support for family and carers. St Luke’s has become a haven for people to die with dignity and is heavily subscribed.
Gopika Patel, supporter for St Luke’s, says, “It is my third time I am taking part in the Midnight Walk and I am walking in memory of my sister. St Luke’s supported the whole family and my sister was at St Luke’s for the last 24 hours of her life. The Midnight Walk is an excellent event, it’s fun, happy and we really enjoyed it. Everyone is also really helpful.”
Marcia John-Baptiste, from Team Double Trouble, says “I walked in honour of our close friend, Karen Tighe. St Luke’s is such a good cause and I also support the hospice by using and donating to the charity shops. It was the first time I took part and it was such a great atmosphere. I would encourage others to take part next time – life is too short and you should enjoy yourself!”
Tracey Ashley, says, “I first saw an advert for the Midnight Walk in the Brent Magazine and decided to take part. I walked with a team call Step in Line. The atmosphere was good and buzzing. I would recommend that people take part as it is lots of fun. St Luke’s looked after my partner’s brother.”
Anna Paton, Mary Markley, Karen MacDonald, Louise Hawkins, Achanda Neal and Amy Raws from the London Ambulance Service North West London formed The Blue Lights team. They say, “We have worked with St Luke’s and in particular with the Single Point of Access Service (SPA). We took part in the walk for the first time last year and it’s a great event that brings the community together. We know how much St Luke’s relies on donations, so took part again. To help towards our fundraising target, we also organised a cake sale last week which raised £125. Everyone should take part as it’s a good cause and a great community spirit.”
Shrina Patel, who also took part, says “The Midnight Walk was well organised and had a great vibe. I also support the hospice by donating to the shops. I support St Luke’s as they helped to look after my grandmother at home. If anyone is thinking about taking part next year – just do it!”
St Luke’s Director of Fundraising, Pam Russell says, ‘The Midnight Walk is our biggest event of the year and it is great to see people of all ages and all parts of the community coming together to support our patients. We would like to give a big thank you to our ladies who walked through the night and collectively raised an incredible amount for the hospice. We would also like to give a special thank you to all 250 volunteers who have helped with the planning of the event, supported us at Harrow Leisure Centre on the night or marshalled the streets to keep our walkers safe throughout the route.’
The event was kindly sponsored by St George’s Shopping Centre in Harrow.
