Fitness fans are stripping off in the best possible taste to raise funds for a Worcestershire hospice.
Members of the Black Pear Joggers are disrobing for a 2015 calendar which is raising funds for St Richard’s Hospice.
The calendar is the brain-child of Jeremy Jones whose family received support from the charity when his late father was a patient.
Jeremy inspired his friends in the club to reveal themselves for the good cause. The 37 year old, project manager from Bevere, Worcester, is also running the Virgin London Marathon for St Richard’s next year and hopes all the fundraising will top £2,000.
Jeremy explained, “My father Graham Jones passed away in March 2007 having spent his last couple of weeks at St Richard’s. The hospice also supported my mother to help her deal with her loss. I want to run the marathon in memory of my father and to help the hospice which cared for him.”
Jeremy says running the marathon is something he has always wanted to do and he will be following in the running shoes of his mother Susan who completed the event in 1992.
He runs regularly with the Black Pear Joggers and often attends the park run opposite the hospice. “I always think of dad and the pond that he looked out over from his room St Richard’s,” he said.
Jeremy added, “The Black Pear Joggers are also an inspiration – they make training more bearable and there is always someone available for advice, many of the people there have run further than they have ever thought possible, the physical and mental benefits are amazing. They are a fantastic bunch of athletes of varying ability, they are very friendly and have a brilliant community spirit. I wouldn’t be in a position to be able to run the marathon next year without them.”
Jeremy has had great support with the calendar from Ian Wild, Group Marketing Manager at Startin Honda. Ian’s late father, Stuart Wild, was a founding member of the Black Pear Joggers.
The calendars are for sale at £10 each with £8 profit from each one being donated to St Richard’s Hospice. To buy a calendar please email
. To donate visit www.justgiving.com search Jeremy Jones or text JVLM77 £(amount) to 70070.
The Black Pear Joggers meet each Monday night at 6.45pm at Perdiswell Leisure Centre, all abilities welcome.
St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,500 patients and family members in Worcestershire.
Patients are cared for in Day Hospice, the 17-bed In-patient Unit or in their own homes by a specialist professional team as well as many trained volunteers.
In the In-patient Unit, specialist staff are on hand 24 hours a day to manage patients’ symptoms and where, if appropriate, patients may spend the last few days of life in comfort and dignity. St Richard’s is an independent charity and is grateful for all donations to help it to continue its work.
Caption: Back (left to right): Ian Wild, Steve Jones, Jeremy Jones, Jim Kent, Paul Childs. Front (left to right): Adam Jackson, Benjamin Dillon