2024 was a historic year for the Pepper Foundation, and in many ways, it was probably the biggest and busiest in our history.
But before we start we would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported the Pepper Foundation in 2024. Whether you were a volunteer, donated, participated in an event or arranged something in your workplace to raise money, we can’t support the hospice at home care that is so important to so many families across Bucks and Herts without the help and support of people like you.
Now, let’s take a look back at some of the highlights of our year!
Pepper at 35
The thing that underpinned 2024 was the celebration of Pepper’s 35 years of fundraising within our community. Pepper began as an idea for a charity live music event back in 1989; fast forward to 2024 it is flourishing as a charity that fundraises hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, funding multiple services across Bucks and Herts that help hundreds of families caring for children with life-limiting conditions.
With over £7.5 million raised for children’s hospice at home care and 35 years of Pepper Shows, in May 2024 we held a special event at the Berkhamsted Civic Centre to celebrate this momentous milestone.
At that point in May, the Pepper Foundation had raised a grand total of £7,937,549, with our flagship event, The Pepper Show, raising a whopping £972,187 of that total. We were also proud to announce that we had made £374,000 of grants this year.
We invited guest speakers from Pepper’s past and present to take us on a journey through the last 35 years. Our partners Keech Hospice Care, Helen & Douglas House, and Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care all provided us with video content for the event.
Probably the most moving and powerful moment of the whole evening was a speech by the parent of a child helped by one the services that Pepper funds. Karen Marshall-Rogers took us on an emotional journey through her family’s experience caring for their late son Seth. Seth had a rare brain disorder that was not possible to treat. Through the children’s hospice at home we fund, Karen and her family were able to care for Seth through his final days in the comfort of their own home.
“Before the children’s hospice at home service came into our lives I really believed Seth’s life would end in hospital, and this was just an unbearable thought. Day or night [children’s hospice at home nurse] Jane would come to give medication, to check if I was unsure on Seth’s condition or if we just needed her. Friends and family were amazing but Jane ‘just knew’. She knew what to say and how we were feeling.”
Almost 16 years on from Seth’s passing and Jane, the children’s hospice at home nurse is still part of Karen and Ben’s life. Although Jane is retired they have kept in touch and still meet every now and then for a catch up. Karen said “Jane, you truly are an angel, Ben and I will never be able to thank you enough for what you did for us and Seth”.
We’d like to thank Karen once again for attending and sharing her experiences.
Thank you to everyone who attended to help us celebrate.
New partnerships
A big feature of 2024 was the development of our new relationships with Keech Hospice Care and Helen & Douglas House. We made initial grants to both organisations in 2024; this represents a new long-term partnership and Pepper will be working with them over the coming years to identify how we can help them reach even more families.
Trustees
In the 2023 – 2024 year, we said goodbye to some Trustees and welcomed new ones.
Firstly we would like to thank Moira Massingale who has been Pepper’s Company Secretary for many years. Moira has been an integral part of managing and reporting on our finances every year. Her dedication to The Pepper Foundation has been incredible, and while she has resigned as Company Secretary, her and her family continue to be an essential part of every aspect of the Pepper Foundation.
We were extremely happy to welcome our new Company Secretary and Trustee, Dipak Sapat, in August and we look forward to working with Dipak over the coming years.
We would also like to welcome Kelly Ballard as a new Trustee, and Eric Pillinger as a returning Trustee.
We said goodbye to David Bevan and Kerie-Anne Ivory during the 23 – 24 year. Thank you to both David and Kerie for their years of dedication as Trustees (although we’re happy to say that both are still very much involved with Pepper; we’re like the ‘Hotel California’ – “you can check out but you can never leave”… Maybe we should do that song in the 2025 show? ;).
Events
This year was our biggest year on record for events, returning with favourites and trying our hand at new things.
Berko Half
Pepper is a long-term partner of Berkhamsted Rotary’s Berkhamsted Half Marathon. While we benefit from the proceeds of the event, Pepper also provides a lot of administrative support both before the event and on the day.
Quiz Night
Our ever-popular Pepper Quiz Night happened again in April (thanks to Roy and Moira Massingale!).
A big thank you goes out to everyone who made generous contributions to the magnificent selection of raffle prizes. Congratulations to The Optimists on their win! The night raised an amazing £1400 for our fantastic charity.
Golf Day
In September the Pepper Golf Day returned to Berkhamsted Golf Club, welcoming avid golfers for a round of golf, food and fun. For the second year, we co-hosted the event with our corporate partner, Think Specialist Recruitment. Also returning was the inimitable Nigel Bardon to host our auction.
Thank you to everyone who attended & volunteered, we raised an amazing £9,144! The level of support from everyone at the auction was phenomenal – from strong bids to last-minute auction prizes being entered! Thank you once again to Think Specialist Recruitment for supporting this event and we cant wait to work with you again next year.
Want to join in our next golf day? We’re hosting two golf days in 2025. The first is an extremely special event at England’s prestigious number one course, The Grove, on 26th March 2025. Tickets can be booked here: https://thelittleboxoffice.com/pepper/
We will also be returning to Berkhamsted Golf Club on 17th September 2025; please email knicolas@pepper.org.uk to reserve your team!
Pepper Panda on Tour
At the beginning of 2024, we took the Pepper Panda to visit several local primary schools, talking to local children about Pepper and how the children we help are just like them but need extra care because they’re not very well. And of course to high-five the Pepper Panda!
This formed an important part of our outreach to our local community.
Family Events
In 2024 Pepper organised two events for families receiving hospice at home care. It is Pepper’s goal to deliver even more family events in 2025 and beyond, giving children and their families a chance to enjoy more days out. As well as entry, we also arrange transportation for those families that would struggle to attend without additional help. All Pepper family events are arranged at no cost for the families attending.
Thomley
Our first 2024 event was at Thomley, an activity park designed for people of all abilities and disabilities. Thomley provides an exciting site for families, carers and friends, supporting people at any stage of their diagnostic journey, whatever their additional needs. We took 21 parents, patients and their siblings for a fun day out at the Thomley’s fantastic facilities.
Whipsnade
Our annual big family day out was once again at Whipsnade Zoo and we were able to invite more families than ever. We would like to thank the staff at Whipsnade for being so accommodating, making special arrangements for our guests.
Fundraising events
Community events are an essential part of any charity’s annual fundraising and this year we had an amazing response to our events. This type of fundraising is wholly dependent on the enthusiasm and hard work of those people participating in the activity, and boy our community pulled out all of the stops to raise money for the Pepper Foundation.
The Great Pepper Skydive
In June, 26 intrepid individuals jumped out of a plane for Pepper! Our amazing skydive teams raised over £16,000, which is an incredible effort! We want to thank everyone who took on this challenge and worked so hard to raise money for the Pepper Foundation.
Climb the O2
On 3rd October, we invited 30 people to join us to climb to the top of the O2 Arena in London. Thank you to everyone who joined us!
Pepper Show 35
The Pepper Show is the jewel of our fundraising calendar. 2024 was the 35th show and became one of the biggest since we moved to the theatre in Tring in 2015.
The Pepper Show is the longest-running live music show in home counties – possibly in the UK – and is a musical institution that has entertained audiences since 1989.
Taking place at the DEMBE Theatre in Tring in mid-October, the annual show once again delivered an unforgettable musical experience, combining the best of local vocal talent with an eight-piece live band.
The show featured a dazzling selection of songs from the past 50 years; the set included timeless rock anthems from ‘The Who’ and ‘Pink Floyd’, to modern pop hits by ‘Taylor Swift’ and ‘Teddy Swims’. Each performance was bursting with energy, passion and emotion, showcasing the impressive talent of local performers. The live band added an electrifying dimension to the show, their rich, dynamic sound elevating each number and making familiar hits feel fresh and exciting.
Thanks to everyone who attended, our sponsors, supporters and donors, The Pepper Show 2024 raised the amazing sum of £26,528.12. That is an increase of nearly £9,000 on the 2023 result.
The total raised by the Pepper Show since it started is an incredible £972,187 as of the 2023 show. This puts the Pepper Show 2024 within touching distance of a phenomenal £1 million raised from Pepper Shows.
We are so proud of our cast, crew and volunteers for helping us to put on such an amazing show.
Robert on The Last Leg
In case you missed it, on Friday 13th December (unlucky for some, but not for Pepper!), Robert Breakwell, the Founder and Chair of The Pepper Foundation, was honoured to be the first-ever winner of the ‘Golden Hans Award’ on the Channel 4 comedy talk show The Last Leg.
Comedy legend Adam Hills (well-known for his charity work) presented Robert Breakwell with the award, recognising 35 years of fundraising for children’s hospice care.
Robert Breakwell said: “It was a huge honour to be the winner of the first Golden Hans Award on The Last Leg. When I started raising funds for children’s hospice at home care in 1989, I couldn’t have imagined it would turn into a life-long project to help fund local care for families supporting children with life-limiting conditions… Or that one day I’d receive an award on a prestigious national television show! But it’s not just me that makes the Pepper Foundation a success; this award is as much for every person who has worked or volunteered for Pepper over the years. Without the hard work and dedication of many people every year we couldn’t fund the children’s hospice care that’s relied on by so many families”.
You can watch the show on Channel 4 OD here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-last-leg/on-demand/77068-008
So as we close the year, we would like to wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. We will see you in 2025!
