Jan 19th 2024
We welcomed the organisers of the Rockbourne Fair to present a fantastic donation of over £51,000.
Members of the Rockbourne Fair Committee, Bev Moulding and Sarah Ewen, presented the donation from the 2023 Rockbourne Fair to our President, the Earl of Pembroke and Hospital Ambassadors yesterday (Thursday, January 18th) on the Neonatal Unit.
A total of £51,533 was raised at the boutique shopping event, which took place from October 18th to 20th 2023 at Salisbury Racecourse. A whopping £261,514 has now been raised at the last five Rockbourne Fairs.
The special presentation took place at the Neonatal Unit. Afterwards, Bev, Sarah and Lord Pembroke were given a tour of the Stars Appeal parents’ accommodation at the unit during which they met parents and babies. They were also able to listen to a Stars Appeal musician playing lullabies on the harp and saw some of the advanced equipment that donations to the charity have recently funded.
Bev Moulding, the chair of the Rockbourne Fair Committee, said: “We are absolutely delighted by the incredible success of Rockbourne Fair 2023. Raising over £51,000 for the Stars Appeal goes beyond our expectations especially in the current economic climate and speaks volumes about the dedication of our volunteers, the quality of our stallholders, and the support from every visitor who walked through our doors.
“Every penny raised will make a significant difference in enhancing patient care and supporting our hardworking NHS staff. This is a proud moment for all of us involved in the Fair, and it reinforces our commitment to continue to put on this fun and much-loved pre-Christmas shopping event.”
The fair featured over 100 handpicked artisan stalls offering a wide variety of items for shoppers from fashion, jewellery, and luxury homeware to gourmet food and toys.
President of the Stars Appeal, Lord Pembroke said: “On behalf of the Stars Appeal, I want to say a massive thank you to the Rockbourne Fair Committee. The fantastic amount of money raised is a testament to their hard work and dedication, and to the brilliant support and generosity of our local community. It will enable the Stars Appeal to do even more to support our hospital and the local people it cares for by funding state-of-the-art equipment, enhancing facilities and providing ongoing projects to support the wellbeing of patients. Thank you so much to everyone involved for making Rockbourne Fair 2023 such a success!”
Donations from the Rockbourne Fair help us towards its goal of raising more than £1million each year to fund projects supporting local people being treated at Salisbury District Hospital. Projects we’re currently looking to fund include six high definition videoscopes for head and neck cancer patients, a mechanical chest compression machine, and 20 specialist cots for newborn babies on the labour and postnatal wards. These are in addition to the ongoing projects we provide which include support for patients with cancer, Stars Appeal Wi-Fi and accommodation for the parents of seriously ill children in hospital.
Last year, donations and fundraising enabled us to fund projects totalling £1million, which included Salisbury Hospital’s first 3D ultrasound, a new plastic surgery theatre with state-of-the-art equipment, and the latest baby heart monitors on the Labour Ward.
To read more about the projects we’re currently fundraising for click here.
Save the date
Rockbourne Fair 2024 – Wednesday 16th October until Friday 18th October at Salisbury Racecourse. Applications are open for stallholders. Visit www.rockbournefair.org for more information.
Pictures by Spencer Mulholland and video by Brunton Media.
