Havens Hospices’ Festive 5K is a challenge you can do at home for Havens Hospices that will take place from Tuesday 1st to Sunday 13th December 2020.  Participants are challenged to run/jog/walk 5K (either in one attempt of over the time period) in festive Fancy Dress. 

The challenge officially starts on Tuesday 1st December to Sunday 13th December 2020. Sign up now, start your fundraising and encourage others to join the challenge too.

Registration is FREE! We just ask you help fundraise as much money as you can for Havens Hospices. All the money you raise will help us achieve our goal of ‘Making every day count’ for our patients and their families. 

JustGiving is an online fundraising platform which makes it easy for you to record the miles you cover and amount you fundraise. Once you sign up to our Festive 5K, a JustGiving page will automatically be set up for you. 

Online donations are paid directly to Havens Hospices each week, so they start making a difference immediately. Plus, JustGiving automatically collects Gift Aid for us on every donation made by a UK taxpayer. So you do less, but we get more!

We hope you can support us by taking on Havens Hospices’ Festive 5K challenge during these unprecedented times - every pound you raise – whatever the amount, means so much to the people we care for.  

The need for our hospice services never stops, so neither can our fundraising. Even during the Coronavirus outbreak, our patients need and deserve quality care at the end of their life. Taking part in our Festive 5K challenge will help this to continue.

Over the past few months, our Fair Havens Hospice at Home Team worked at full capacity, with demand increasing by 30% as people chose to be cared for at home instead of the hospital.

At Fair Havens we opened all 16 beds at the hospice just three weeks after we opened the new building in Prittlewell to discharge people from hospital who were at risk of Coronavirus.

Since we opened the new Fair Havens in March, the number of patients we’ve been able to care for within the In Patient Unit has risen by approximately 40% already, compared to the same period last year.

Little Havens also worked with the NHS across Essex to bring children at risk out of hospital wards and into the hospice. Additionally, the beautiful gardens at the hospice were made available to families experiencing an exceptional crisis who could benefit from time away from home.

Now more than ever, getting out for some exercise is crucial for everyone’s mental wellbeing and Festive 5K is the perfect goal.

Festive 5K is a personal challenge that you can complete by yourself, in your own time between 1st-13th December 2020, but it's also the perfect opportunity to connect with others. Sign up as an individual or as a team, dress up and head outside with members of your household or a socially distanced group of up to 6 people (please remember to follow the current Government advice and guidelines on social distancing).

Track your mileage and your fundraising progress on your Festive 5K fundraising page and share with everyone you know so they can support your achievements.

Why not join our community of festive runners on our Festive 5K Facebook Group page  to see everyone’s fantastic fancy dress ideas and fastest completion times?

No, you can take part if you’re 10 or 110! But, if you’re under 16 you will need a parent or guardian to sign you up to Festive 5K. Please email lburgess@havenshospices.org.uk with permission from your parent or guardian.

Absolutely not! You can run or walk 5k in one session or over a few days if you wish!

Yes, you can track your distance using Strava and link it to your JustGiving page. This will ensure your mileage is automatically recorded and added to your page. If you don’t use these apps (or forget to use them while you’re out and about!) you can manually add the mileage to your page later. 

We will be giving out a prize to the fastest runner so make sure you submit your time on our Festive 5K Facebook Group.

Yes, absolutely. Once you have signed up and created your personal JustGiving page, you can then create a JustGiving team page too. When your friends, family or colleagues sign up to take part in Festive 5K, they can join your team during the registration process.

For more information about how to set up your Festive 5K team online, please click here. Don’t forget, you need to have registered to take part for Festive 5K before you can join or create a team page. 

Once you have set up a team, you’re automatically made the Team Leader, which means you can invite people to join. On your page you will be able to invite whoever you want (if they have their own page set up).

We are hoping that people will really go all out in their best festive fancy dress but if that’s not for you then please feel free to keep it simple. A Santa hat, or Christmas Jumper, or even some tinsel will do the job! Or dress up your pet instead!

Head to festive5k.havenshospices.org.uk and click on the tab ‘Find a Friend’ and type in the name of the person you are looking for. 

Join our Festive 5K group on Facebook and keep up to date with all the latest Festive 5K chat. ‘Simply visit our Facebook page and request to join the Festive 5K group. . Soon you’ll be sharing stories with our other participants in this year’s challenge!

If you have any questions about promotional materials, please email Lucy at lburgess@havenshopsices.org.uk

If you have any questions or queries relating to this event, please email Lucy at lburgess@havenshopsices.org.uk

When you have completed your Festive 5K make sure you enter our fancy dress and fastest runner competition to be in with a chance to win a fabulous prize! See below under ‘How do I to enter the competitions?’ for more details

Let everyone who has sponsored you know that you’ve completed your Festive 5K challenge, and send them a big ‘Thank You’ for their support.  

Check out the milestone badges that you can download and add to your fundraising page, or to social media posts to celebrate. Certificate of Completion/Thank you certificate will be sent two months after the event date to allow the funds to be transferred from JustGiving.

To enter our Best Fancy Dress competition and Fastest Runner competition, join our Festive 5K Facebook Group. We will be adding a post on there with all details on how to enter the competitions.

We can’t wait to see all your entries!

We only ask that you raise as much as you’re able. However, if you raise £150 this could provide a night of emergency respite care at Little Havens for family during the festive season.

If you wish, to show our appreciation of your fundraising efforts, we will arrange for a special message from Santa to be sent directly to you if you raise £150. Please contact Lucy lburgess@havenshospices.org.uk for further info.

Gift Aid is a government run scheme that allows charities to reclaim some of the tax that you have already paid to HMRC. Currently, this is equal to 25p for every £1 that you give. 

Gift Aid does not cost you any extra and can make your donation worth an extra 25% to us, so it is a fantastic way of ensuring your donations go as far as they possibly can.

When you register to take part in Festive 5K, an online fundraising page is automatically created for you. There are a few key things you can do to make the most of your fundraising page, including: 

1. Uploading a photo -This is a great way of personalising your page. You can upload more than one, so why not add photos as way of telling your fundraising story and sharing your progress.              
2. Setting a target - Doing this is a such a great motivator for yourself. It will also encourage others to help you reach your goal and who knows – you might even beat it! 
3. Sharing your story - Tell your supporters why you are taking part in Festive 5K and what a difference their donations will make to Havens Hospices.
4. Promoting your page -Email a page link to your friends/family and if you’re online, share it on social media. This is such a great way to raise awareness of your challenges and kick start your fundraising. 
5. Keeping everyone updated - Try to share regular updates and progress photos on your page. Your supporters will enjoy sharing your journey with you and want to know how you’re getting on. 
6. For more help, take a look at our fundraising tips.

• Pay in online: https://www.havenshospices.org.uk/support-us/make-a-donation/
• Pay in by cheque: Send a cheque made payable to Havens Hospices and send to:
  Havens Hospices, 226 Priory Crescent, Southend on Sea, Essex SS2 6PR.
  Remember to include your name and address details so we can thank you. 
• Pay in by BACS: Contact us directly and we will provide you with our bank details. You'll be given a unique reference, so we can track your donation. 
• Pay by phone: To make a donation over the phone, call our Supporter Care team on 01702 220305. 

We must raise over £81,000 each week to be there for everyone who needs us. Every gift, no matter how large or small, means so much to the families we care for.