This Volunteers’ Week, a Northumberland charity has said a big thank you to one of its longest-serving volunteers for her commitment and loyalty over the years.

Alison Ross is estimated to have raised more than £30,000 for Tynedale Hospice at Home since becoming a volunteer in the charity’s first shop on Battle Hill in 2003. Coincidentally, Alison’s father had owned the very same shop when it was a newsagent!

Feeling that she should volunteer in the shop her father used to run, she became a big part of the charity.

Shortly after joining as a retail volunteer, Alison started a monthly coffee morning to raise the profile of the hospice locally.

While these were not initially seen as a fundraising activity, they regularly brought in an average of £150 a month before the Covid pandemic.

In total, the Hospice estimates that Alison’s coffee mornings have raised over £20,000.

In addition to coffee mornings, Alison has celebrated her birthdays with the hospice. On her 70th she raised £1,930 by swimming a mile. Then, when she hit 75 she zip-wired across the Tyne to raise £6,000! She dusted off the harnesses and zipwires again for her 80th – raising £4,000 from taking part in Go Ape at Matfen.

Not all Alison has done for the hospice has been about raising money though, having also played an important role as a volunteer driver.

The hospice’s service covers an 800 square mile catchment area and is designed to relieve pressure on families and take away the stress and worry of travelling - especially when patients can have regular appointments over a prolonged period of time.

Her longest drive was taking a patient for their final chemotherapy appointment from Kielder to Newcastle, with Alison kindly stopping off with the patient for fish and chips on the way home to celebrate her last dose of chemotherapy.

And in 2009, Alison was one of the first volunteers to undergo specialist training and working with adults and children having pre and post bereavement support.

The keen seamstress has hand-made Hospice hedgehogs for the children, with her changing the pattern to make sure that one would fit into every child’s school bag.

Tynedale Hospice at Home told us they’d like to give Alison a huge thank you for working so hard and giving her valuable time to ensure the Hospice can continue to care for the community.

Volunteers’ Week runs during the first week of June nationwide, aiming to recognise volunteers for their contributions to the organisations they support across the UK.

Tynedale Hospice at Home has more than 200 volunteers, and it extends the thank you above to all of them.