Maddie gives up chocolate and sweets for St Catherine’s

A nine-year-old self-confessed chocoholic gave up sweets and chocolate for a whole month to raise sponsorship money for St Catherine’s Hospice.

Determined Maddie Briers, from Farington, raised an amazing £120 for the charity by resisting all of her favourite treats in November, which also meant abstaining from enjoying some of her chocolaty birthday presents that month.

Maddie, who attends Lever House Primary School, said: “Some of my family have been cared for by St Catherine’s and I wanted to raise some money. I thought a good idea would be to give up something I love and get sponsored. It was hard but I managed it, and I had a really big chocolate bar to celebrate when I finished!”

The charity’s chief executive Stephen Greenhalgh met with Maddie when she visited the hospice with her wonderful donation in February.

He said: “I think it’s truly remarkable that Maddie carried out such a selfless act to support her local hospice. It means an awful lot to us that she sacrificed chocolates and sweets – which as a grandfather, I know to be very important to young people of her age!

“It’s fantastic when children choose to support charities, and St Catherine’s simply wouldn’t be able to continue offering specialist care to local people with life-shortening illnesses without the support of people in our communities like Maddie.

“On behalf of all the staff, volunteers, patients and families of St Catherine’s, I’d like to say a very special ‘thank you’ for Maddie’s determined efforts and for her very generous donation, which will make such a difference to those we help.”

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