17 December 2020
Paultons Park reaches fundraising goal during global pandemic
The Hampshire-based family theme park, Paultons Park, launched a three-year partnership with Southampton Hospitals Charity back in 2019 and now, just 18 months into the partnership, the grand total has been reached.
Paultons Park have raised £70,000 to refurbish and equip a specialist sensory retreat for patients at Southampton Children’s Hospital. In 2019, Paultons supported the Charity by donating a percentage of the sales from bespoke retail items in their gift shop, ticket sales to their 2019 Gardens Open Evening as well as various initiatives led by members of staff.
Due to the park’s unforeseen closure in light of the COVID-19 crisis, traditional fundraising events and initiatives were no longer possible. As government restrictions eased, Paultons Park reopened on 4th July 2020 and fundraising efforts resumed, welcoming many generous voluntary donations from guests purchasing tickets online. Such generosity proves that even during the hardest of times, guests remain keen to make a difference to those who need it most.
In order to ensure fairness in line with operating at a limited capacity, it became necessary for Paultons to charge season ticket holders a small booking fee, the entire proceeds of which also contribute directly to fundraising efforts.
Jeneen Thomsen, Joint Interim Director and Head of Major Gifts at Southampton Hospitals Charity, said
We are so thrilled that Paultons Park and their fantastic guests have continued to be so generous in light of an extremely difficult year. As a Charity, our efforts have been focused on many new areas this year, and we’re so pleased to have partners like Paultons on board who can continue to support the developments needed throughout Southampton Children’s Hospital.”
Sara Mancey, HR Director at Paultons Park said,
As a family business we are pleased to welcome guests to the park after a significant period of closure. We continue to be amazed by guests and staff who support the hospital so generously and are so delighted to have already reached our original fundraising target. It will be great to see the new sensory retreats take shape and improve the wellbeing of children – and by association, their families – from across Hampshire and beyond.”
Now that Paultons have reached their £70,000 fundraising total, planning of the new sensory retreat is underway and will begin to take shape in 2021. As the partnership is set to continue, new fundraising projects are being explored and will be confirmed in the coming months.
To find out more or to make a donation please visit https://www.justgiving.com/team/paultonspark.