St Benedict’s Hospice Christmas Fair Returns
Written by Angel Lamb on 28th October 2026
St Benedict’s Hospice in Ryhope is holding its annual Christmas Fair this Sunday, November 1, from 11am to 2pm.
Based in Sunderland, the hospice has provided specialist palliative and end-of-life care to patients and their families since 1984.
The hospice works closely with the local community and hosts events throughout the year, including the Christmas Fair, to raise money to support its services.
Sheelagh Taylor, head of fundraising, said: “Events like these are such an important part of our fundraising calendar. The support we receive from the local community is just incredible.
“The time taken to buy that extra gift when shopping, join our crafters in making items for us to sell or even just giving a couple of hours of their time means we can continue to deliver free specialist palliative care now and into the future.”
The Christmas Fair brings together supporters of the Hospice and marks the start of the Christmas season.
There will be a range of handcrafted items, Christmas gifts and decorations available at the Fair. Visitors will be able to get hot drinks, refreshments and baked goods from the Hospice bistro. A Christmas prize draw has been organised over the past few weeks and will be drawn during the fair, along with other Fair games including tombola.
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Children are also encouraged to get involved with an activity table with Christmas crafts and letters to Santa.
Santa will be arriving at 12pm to visit the supporters at the Hospice. There will be an opportunity for children and families to say hello and grab a photo.
This year St Benedict’s are aiming to raise around £4,000 for the Hospice to ensure they can continue providing the highest quality of care to those that need it, the charity fund essential services such as patient transport and bereavement counselling for families and friends that have lost loved ones.
Megan Turnock, Community Fundraising Officer described Christmas as one of the busiest times in fundraising: “But it is busy because we receive so much fantastic support across our events.”
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