John Barnes Joins Zoe's Place Fundraising Walk to Support Local Charity
John Barnes and the Critical Need for Zoe's Place
Liverpool legend John Barnes was 'bombarded' by fans as he joined more than 100 people fundraising for Zoe's Place today. The former England international charged donations for photographs with him as a group of people collected money and marched from the city centre to the hospice on Yew Tree Lane in West Derby to support the campaign to keep the charity going.
Zoe's Place: A Lifeline for Families
Zoe's Place provides respite, palliative, and end-of-life care for babies and children up to the age of five. It has supported countless local families in their most difficult moments. However, staff and families of children being cared for at Zoe's Place were told earlier this month that the centre would close before the end of the year and that staff would lose their jobs in 30 days.
- The Liverpool ECHO has joined the city-wide campaign to try to raise a required £5m before November 9 to keep the organisation in our city.
- People from across Liverpool and beyond have been pulling out all the stops to try and raise the money that Zoe's Place needs to remain in the city.
Support from the Community
The charity says it needs that £5m to build a new facility that will mean the hospice stays in the city, but with plans to close the site already underway, there are just weeks to save it. Today’s walk was another example of Scousers doing incredible things for the cause.
Ged Finnegan, 69, from Woolton, organised the walk. Ged's daughter Kate died at Alder Hey at the age of 13 in 1998. Since 2018, he has run 'Kate's Coastal Walk' - a sponsored walk along the Merseyside coast - in order to honour Kate's memory and support Zoe's Place. He has raised more than £80,000 for the hospice in the last six years and wanted to do his bit now in order to support the ongoing campaign to keep it open.
- Today’s walk began at the Pier Head, before the group made their way to Primark on Church Street, where they dispersed with charity buckets.
- After collecting money, the group then walked from the city centre to Zoe's Place in West Derby to hand over the funds.
In the city centre, they were joined by Liverpool FC legend John Barnes who collected money - asking for donations for the hospice from people who wanted to take a photograph with him.
This article was prepared using information from open sources in accordance with the principles of Ethical Policy. The editorial team is not responsible for absolute accuracy, as it relies on data from the sources referenced.