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A young rugby fan from North Devon is raising thousands of pounds for ‘healthcare superheroes’ by selling rainbow-themed rugby shirts and balls that he designed during lockdown.

Eleven-year-old Ryan Mahajan has raised £5,000 for charity since June last year after watching the news and being inspired by the incredible efforts of frontline healthcare workers.

With the help of his family’s company, Aramis Rugby in South Molton, he produced and sold colourfully designed shirts and balls in aid of North Devon Hospice and North Devon District Hospital charity Over and Above.

Now, he hopes to raise a

Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) is delighted to be one of two local charities to benefit from an upcoming quiz night being hosted by Shaun Wallace, AKA The Dark Destroyer, from ITV game show The Chase.

Shaun will be the quiz master for the Cornwall Channel Big Quiz which will be run via zoom on Saturday 24 April and will raise funds for CHSW and Cornwall Air Ambulance.

Quiz lovers will be able to put their knowledge to the test against questions penned by Shaun that will span 10 testing categories, and at half time participants will get to listen to St Ives singing sensation Molly

Healthy competition paired with a local charity needing donations inspired aircrew at RNAS Culdrose at Helston to set up their very own Gr-814 British Bake Off competition.

814 NAS The Flying Tigers embraced the competition which saw weekly baking challenges set and then judged by the squadron’s Commanding Officer, Cdr Chris Wood.

Following the format of the much-loved Great British Bake Off, each week there was a different theme for their bakes including chocolate, biscuit and savoury week. The different categories provided ample opportunity for crew to show off their expertise, perfect

Check out this incredible lot! It’s a year this week since we launched our Be Incredible with Children's Hospice South West Facebook Group and we have been truly humbled to see the many amazing ways that people have rallied for our hospices in such unprecedented times.

The Be Incredible group was born in the early days of lockdown as a way for CHSW supporters to connect and support each other, as well as to share Covid-safe fundraising ideas …and of course to have some fun! The group now has 850+ incredible members and we’d love for you to join and get involved too!

We hope you enjoy watching

AnnaLaura Smith-Gilpin, her partner and sons are almost halfway through their challenge of walking 201km in March, raising money for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).

The walk will be a huge challenge for Annalaura’s son Nicholas, age 6 as he has a variety of conditions, including hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which means his life-expectancy is short and every day is a challenge.

The family receives support from CHSW’s Charlton Farm in Wraxall and has done for around four years. Due to the pandemic, they have been unable to visit the hospice, although the care team have been keeping

Fresh spring air and a sturdy pair of walking shoes are helping a retired Tiverton primary school teacher to take on a special charity walking challenge this month.

Liz Guppy from East Worlington is marching through March in a bid to raise as much money as she can for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).

Liz, 70, has challenged herself to walk 100 miles – a minimum of four miles every day for 25 consecutive days – on local paths and countryside lanes around her home.

It is particularly challenging for Liz as 10 years ago, she was diagnosed with chronic pain condition fibromyalgia, which

Karen Lane from Trewoon near St Austell has completed her 38 day challenge: Stricly Come Biking, all in the name of charity.

For 38 consecutive days Karen donned a different ballgown and cycled up to 35 miles each day on her static bike. The challenge sparked great support from Karen’s friends, family and dance students from The Dance Factory who have all helped her raise over £1400 for Children’s Hospice South West.

Karen kept her supporters updated with her progress via social media each day proving her vast array of ball gowns, high heels and her serious dedication to pedalling a total of

Exeter Chiefs players delighted Children's Hospice South West (CHSW) children and families by holding a virtual story time session.

Players Jack Maunder, Joe Simmonds and Tom O'Flaherty joined 13 families at home via video call, as well as care teams at the charity’s three children’s hospices, for a special reading of Jack’s motivational new children's book, Bounce Back Jack!

The sports stars also spent time chatting to families about their own personal experiences of times when they have overcome setbacks and shown resilience.

A highlight of the session was Joe Simmonds giving a rousing pep

Martin Abrahams from Thornbury is taking on a year-long challenge to mark the 30th anniversary of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).

Martin and his family are supported by CHSW’s Charlton Farm hospice and have been since their youngest daughter, Jessica, died in January 2017, aged 6.

Martin said: “The care and compassion we experienced during the worst time in our lives was priceless. Jessica lost a long battle with leukaemia and Charlton Farm was there for my wife, Melissa, our eldest daughter, Zoe and myself.”

Charlton Farm, located in North Somerset, offers respite, palliative, end of

Peter Colley from Nailsea wanted to do something to raise funds for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) during the pandemic and decided he would have a sponsored ‘isolation buzz cut’.

Peter, age 12, said: “All charities, including CHSW, have suffered due to Covid-19 and the cancelling of events. I wanted to raise money for them because it means a lot to our family.”

So far Peter has raised £320 for CHSW, which provides respite, emergency, end-of-life and bereavement care and support for the whole family. It has adapted its care during the pandemic to ensure Covid-safe support wherever and