Mystery of blue circles revealed as Derian House launches Dream appeal

Derian House Children's Hospice has dreamed up an inspirational campaign for 2016.
CHORLEY GUARDIAN  15-02-16
The Mayor of Chorley Councillor Marion Lowe, right, shows her support for the Derian Dreams campaign, the big blue circles which have appeared around the borough, this one across from Chorley Town Hall for Derian House Children's Charity, pictured with Susie Poppitt, left, head of fundraising for the charity.CHORLEY GUARDIAN  15-02-16
The Mayor of Chorley Councillor Marion Lowe, right, shows her support for the Derian Dreams campaign, the big blue circles which have appeared around the borough, this one across from Chorley Town Hall for Derian House Children's Charity, pictured with Susie Poppitt, left, head of fundraising for the charity.
CHORLEY GUARDIAN 15-02-16 The Mayor of Chorley Councillor Marion Lowe, right, shows her support for the Derian Dreams campaign, the big blue circles which have appeared around the borough, this one across from Chorley Town Hall for Derian House Children's Charity, pictured with Susie Poppitt, left, head of fundraising for the charity.

The Chorley hospice is this week launching the Derian Dreams initiative, raising money and awareness for the charity with a host of sleep-related events planned throughout the year.

Staff aimed to generate interest in the appeal by placing giant blue spots around the town last week, to get people guessing and encourage them to look out for their meaning.

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The campaign’s full logo has now been placed on top of the spots, and the hospice is urging people to get in touch to tell them how many they’ve found and where the circles are placed, to be in with the chance of winning a prize.

Senior fund-raiser, Susie Poppitt, said: “We did something similar, placing giant teapots round town for the tea party campaign a few years ago, and it worked really well.”

She added: “Everyone knows what it’s like to have a bad night’s sleep, and the idea behind this campaign is that for families who have a poorly child, their sleep is very much affected.

“We want to raise awareness but we’re also hoping the public will get on board with some wild and wacky ideas for raising money in a host of fun ways too.

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“We’ve also got lots in the pipeline ourselves, which are all sleep, dreams, or night time orientated.”

The team will be pushing a bed through Astley Park and the town centre on Wednesday afternoon, with the charity’s mascot, Derian Dan, and Mayor Marion Lowe on board, to kick-start the appeal.

The first major event lined up is a sponsored midnight ‘sleep walk’ in May. There will also be a Dream Ball in September, and the hospice is hoping the community backs the initiative with their own events.

Susie said: “We’d like companies to do raffles to offer employees a ‘duvet day’ - an extra day’s holiday for the person who wins the raffle.

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“We’d also like schools to organise ‘bed head’ days where children go in with messy hair and make a donation.

“We’ve actually published an A to Z of Derian Dreams fund-raising ideas, which people can find out more about on our website.

“I think this theme appeals to all age ranges - children can do pyjama parties and adults could arrange a moonlight dinner party. There are so many opportunities to get involved.”

The Chancery Road hospice, which specialises in children’s palliative and respite care, is also launching a ‘Bedtime Stories’ audio book later this Spring, with authors having donated stories, and local celebrities such Dave Spikey, Steve Pemberton and Ted Robbins reading them out. A ‘Sweet Dreams’ recipe book is also in the works.

To find out more about the appeal, visit http://derianhouse.net-work.net/.

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