With the Summer’s longest day fast approaching, women have just a short time left to sign up for the St Giles Hospice Summer Solstice Walk.

The brand new event will see hundreds of women setting off on the night-time walk through Lichfield to raise funds for St Giles Hospice, which cares for local people with cancer and other serious illnesses.

Sarah Shelton, Community Fundraiser for St Giles Hospice, says: “With the event taking place on the night of June 23rd/24th, now is the time to sign up with friends and colleagues for what promises to be a really fun night out.

“Women of all ages and fitness levels can walk as quickly or as slowly as they wish, and we positively encourage plenty of chatting along the way!”

The event will start at 10pm on Saturday 23rd June at the Friary Grange Leisure Centre in Eastern Avenue, Lichfield.

Before the walkers set off, balloons will be released into the sky and for a donation of £2, a personal message can be attached to a balloon, to remember someone special.

The walk – either two circuits of a six-mile route or for those not feeling quite so energetic, one circuit – is non-competitive and open to women aged 16 and over.

Entry is £12 per walker with a substantial amount going to support the hospice.

The deadline for signing up is Friday 15th June and those who do will receive a Solstice Walk sponsorship pack, which includes a map of the route, safety guidelines and details of how they can raise sponsorship money.

Walkers can secure their place by calling the St Giles Fundraising Team on 01543 432538 or emailing sarah.shelton@st-giles-hospice.org.uk.

Sarah continues: “For all those who have already signed up for the walk, there is still plenty of time to add a few more sponsors to the bottom of your form so get cracking!

“We have around 500 ladies signed up to take part and anyone who would like to sponsor them collectively is invited to contact the Fundraising Department.”

St Giles Hospice is a registered charity offering high-quality medical and nursing care for people with cancer and other serious illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers.

Patients come from across the hospice’s catchment area, which ranges from Ashby de la Zouch and Atherstone in the east, to Cannock and Walsall in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south.

Care is offered at the hospice’s facilities in Sutton Coldfield and Whittington, between Lichfield and Tamworth, or in patients’ own homes across the region.

The range of high-quality, specialist services are expensive to provide, and the hospice relies heavily on donations and fundraising – of which initiatives such as the Solstice Walk play a major part.