A SPECIAL cocktail in honour of York's hospice helped raise £21,000 in just 30 days.

St Leonard's Hospice has unveiled the winners of this year's fundraising accumulator challenge which attracted the support of eight teams.

Participants were given just £30 and tasked with use their entrepreneurial skills to make as much money as they could in 30 days, with the results announced at a ceremony at The Marriott Hotel.

The Grand York was named accumulator challenge winner 2022, taking the coveted crown for the second year after the team raised £8,515.

The group took part in various activities to raise the cash, including adding a special St Leonard’s Hospice cocktail to their menu and several circuits of the city's walls.

Altogether the teams raised almost £21,000 for the Tadcaster Road charity.

Anne Keogh, community fundraiser at St Leonard’s, who supported the teams in their challenge, said: "The teams got really stuck into the challenge, coming up with lots of ways to coin it in.

"We’ve been really impressed, not only by the variety of fundraising initiatives that took place but also by the fantastic teamwork and community spirit that we have seen.

"It was a very emotional 30 days for some as they have undertaken challenges in memory of a loved one. A huge thank you to everyone who took part. They have raised way more than we could have hoped for.”

The Red Lion Pub in Knapton came second, raising £4,047, with one employee, Elise Richards, doing a skydive in memory of her mum, who was cared for by the hospice.

She was awarded a special 'individual achievement award’, voted by all teams on the night.

The pub also won a special award for ‘most inclusive team’ because of how they brought the community of Knapton together in their fundraising.

Some teams took on physical activities to raise cash.

A spokesman from Mosaic Fulfilment Solutions, who came third raising £2,051, said: “Ella walked a marathon in memory of her mum, who had volunteered at St Leonard’s after she retired.

"Carol and Ella walked 28.341 miles from York to Selby and back with two other staff members, Kate and Martin. This was challenging physically and emotionally, especially when we passed the hospice all lit up as the sun was setting. We were literally almost crawling back to the starting point where we’d parked our cars!”

Other teams taking part were Jeff’s Design Shop, which raised £2,017, The Marriott Hotel, York Vangarde, and Ainsty Ales.

The ‘most innovative team’ award went to York Gin, with a spokesman saying: “We chose St Leonard’s as a charity partner because the hospice has touched so many of our lives in a very positive way.

"We did lots of events and activities including a 198.5-mile bike ride in the York Gin shop to celebrate the year St Leonard’s was established. It was on an exercise bike rather than a real bike.

"We’ve been asking if customers would like to add £1 to their bill in the shop and online. We also ran a party weekend in the shop with raffle prizes and lots more.

"Our lovely Jo and Susannah hosted a series of popular online gin quizzes during the first lockdown and they agreed to do a quiz in real life to raise money. And our lovely Flo and Adam wrote an original fundraising song ‘Gin It To Win It’ to keep morale going and entertain everyone.”

Julie Dale, senior sister for St Leonard’s Hospice@Home team thanked all the teams at the ceremony for their efforts and spoke about the work of the hospice in the community.