A group of friends from Warrington put on a show of a lifetime by performing their own rendition of The Full Monty raising £12,000 for St Rocco’s Hospice.
The magnificent seven brave men entertained a huge crowd at Alford Hall Sports and Social Club after giving up their free time since March to learn the cheeky dance routines. It was all worth it when they discovered they had smashed their fundraising target of £12,000 for St Rocco’s Hospice on the night.
The fun-packed night included live music from Parlours, a 5-piece Indie/Alternative Rock band based in North-West England (Warrington and Runcorn).
Joanne Heritage and her fiancé, Adie, came up with the idea for the epic fundraiser after the hospice provide her nanas with “first class care and support”.
Joanne said, “St Rocco’s is close to my heart as it is to many others in Warrington, giving something back lets the staff know we appreciate everything they do.” They also wanted to do something to get men talking and socialising and this project has meant that the group have bonded through learning to dance and being vulnerable together. Joanne along with friend, Stevie have been coaching the guys weekly, ensuring they were ready for the show with Stevie even being the emergency backup dancer just in case.
The Full Monty cast consisted of Adie the hairy builder, chunky but funky Karl, local loveable binman Phil, young at heart Paul, Vini the loveable rogue, Jamie who wanted to honour his hero cousin Nicky and Lee who always shines. Lee raises money for St Rocco’s every year and was crowned Fundraiser of the Year in the Warrington Guardian Inspiration Awards 2024; it was an honour to see him taking his fundraising to the next level at this event.
Each of the men had heart-warming reasons for wanting to support St Rocco’s and their target was to raise enough to pay for a day of hospice care. It costs St Rocco’s £12,000 a day to keep the hospice open and provide inpatient care, outpatient appointments, wrap-around care, bereavement support and night sits as well as all the other therapies and activities offered to people with a terminal illness and their loved ones. The dedication, humour and passion of the team behind this event has meant they have smashed their target, making it the highest total for a community fundraising event that St Rocco’s has seen this year.
An event like this cannot happen without the generosity of the people behind the scenes. From Rose, the wardrobe whizz who adapted the quick release clothes, to Jacqui snapping photos and getting the best angles and also DJ Franklin and Harry who worked the lighting and sound. A huge thank you also goes to Laura for supporting with raffle and fundraising, Kath for supporting with ticket sales and fundraising, Holly for coming along to dance practise to cheer the lads on and a big shout out to all the partners and wives of the lads as without their support this wouldn’t have been possible. Finally, to Stacey and Holly from Velocity Dance have given up hours upon hours of their time to teach the boys the dance moves.
You can still show the ballsy boys your support the event by visiting: Fullmonty Warrington is fundraising for St Rocco’s Hospice (justgiving.com) and you can find out more about St Rocco’s here: St Roccos Hospice | End of Life Care