Editorial: Super effort by Holly Trail crew

When Cranford Hospice general manager Helen Blaxland offered up a sincere "thank you" at a special event this week to celebrate a remarkable fundraising effort by a remarkable group of people, she could really only say it once.

Had she personally tried to thank everyone behind the 2014 Hospice Holly Trail she would have had to put in a lot of time and travel quite a distance to catch up with them all.

The fundraising event resulted in $250,000 being raised for the hospice. That is a quarter of a million dollars and no matter how many times you hear or see a sum like that you can't help but kind of go "wow".

As a community fundraising event which takes place amidst a region rather than a major metropolitan centre, the figure is, as Helen said, "phenomenal".

This is an event which has run every two years since 2000 and the Hospice Holly Trail Charitable Trust Committee stage it specifically for Cranford, a devoted, respected and vital centre which needs about $2 million to fulfil its valuable work.

The trust committee has never been casual in putting in the time.

Tireless?

Oh, yes.

Their event is effectively centred around presenting a dozen creative and inspiring homes where designers and imaginative creators capture the spirit of Christmas.

The owners of those properties (and there have been more than 100 since it first kicked off) are all too happy to do their bit.

But there were other events which also drew the big crowds in.

Food and flower workshops by hospice supporters like Jo Seagar, Debbie Nott, Susanna Todd and Sandra O'Sullivan were staged - and the young and beautiful voices of the choirs from Iona College, Woodford House and Hereworth School also gave the event that special touch.

Some 350 volunteers and a string of sponsors put in their time and effort to do their bit for a very, very worthy cause.

And they are the sort of people who do not pursue acclaim or a thank you note.

They do it for Cranford because they know what the hospice is all about. I daresay so many would have had contact through the centre's care and devotion to a family member through the years.

It is a remarkable sum to raise for such a remarkable cause, and it would be a fair bet that the committee will already be looking ahead to the 2016 event.

It has to be said again ... remarkable.