31 Mar 2017 Community

Sweet treats raise cash in memory of Louise

Mirfield woman’s sugary creations help Kirkwood Hospice to raise over £7,800 for patient care.

Jayne Walker, of Sweeties R Us Mirfield, has been delighting people over recent years with her creative confections to try to raise money for Kirkwood Hospice, but last year she took the idea even further – creating over 90 individual ‘Sweetie Explosions’ for Kirkwood Hospice as part of their Christmas Hamper raffle.

The unique ‘Sweetie Explosions’ were created using chocolate bars and sweets such as Double Dips and Wham bars to build a visually stunning display. And they went down a treat across Kirklees, with almost 100 local businesses, pubs and clubs raffling them off for Kirkwood, raising an incredible £7,898.

Jayne has supported the Hospice for a number of years in memory of her best friend Louise Rose, who was cared for at Kirkwood before she died in October 2010.

Louise’s son Damien Rose and his family were also involved in the campaign, working hard to source sweets and chocolates as well as asking venues to raffle them to raise funds.

Damien was keen to support Kirkwood after the care and support his family received whilst his mum was at the Hospice.

“I remember Mum telling us that she was going to Kirkwood for a rest, but we all knew that she wouldn’t be able to come home again.” said Damien.

“If it wasn’t for Kirkwood Hospice, we wouldn’t have had the chance to see her before she died. They made it possible for the family to be with her in her final moments.

“We didn’t know the staff at the Hospice but they made us feel special. It was the little things that made such a difference. I remember that they encouraged her children to keep a lock of hair to remember her by.”

It takes a lot of chocolate bars and sweets to produce Jayne’s decadent treats, and she relied on the amazing support of people across Kirklees to make it possible.

Jayne said: “We were blown away by the support we received, with so many different people and groups helping us out.

“We’ve had support from local schools, Brownie groups and lots of individuals too. John Riordan, the landlord at the Plough Inn in Mirfield collected lots of chocolate by putting a donation box in the bar and even raffled one off for Kirkwood too. Lots of the regulars at the Plough, like Stuart and Paul, kept going to the local shop to buy more each time they dropped in.”

In the picture: [Back Row  L to R] Damien Rose and Chloe Rose (holding a picture of mum Louise), Jill Fisher, Joe Walker, [Front Row L to R] Jayne Walker, Matilda Gleghorn, Esme Gleghorn and Harry Gleghorn and John Riordan

 

Creating the explosions from scratch is a labour intensive job, and even with her skill, it takes Jayne up to two hours to finish each ‘explosion’.

“I definitely made over 90 sweetie explosions; it was probably more like 95 in total. It takes a couple of hours to complete each one but it’s worth it to help raise money for the Hospice.”

Jayne has set up a Facebook page called Sweeties R Us Mirfield, where she makes Sweetie and Chocolate Explosions and Sweetie Trees for people for a donation for Kirkwood Hospice. If you would like to see more of her work, visit her Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/sweetiesrus.mirfield