Fundraisers Nick and Sally build a legacy

Except that it certainly isn't a day job for Nick Holding and Sally Hodson, who respectively work as quality improvement programme manager and surgical medical secretary supervisor.

The pair are the latest nominations for the Public Choice Award in the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust Awards 2014 which will be presented next month.

You can find out how to vote for Nick and Sally or any of the other four nominees in Saturday's Shropshire Star.

They have organised an annual walk between the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury for the past three years, raising £50,000 in the process.

This year, entrants could either take part in an 18-mile walk, an 18-mile run or a 35-mile bike ride. About 300 hardy souls took part, raising more than £21,000 for the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund.

Amazingly, the event all started out as a simple team-building exercise, Nick explains.

"We had an improvement team at the trust, which myself and Sal were part of, along with maybe half-a-dozen other people," he said.

"As part of a team-building exercise we thought 'shall we walk between the two hospitals' as a bit of an event?

"Then we said 'Shall we do it for charity, to raise some money?'

"Then we thought about opening it up to other people. Realistically we thought we might get 50 people and ended up with 120."

The first walk raised £10,000 and was largely completed by staff from the two hospitals, but the project has subsequently attracted lots of interest from the general public.

"It's just snowballed from there," said Nick. "This year as many people from outside the hospitals as from within them took part."

Last year the "From Here to Maternity" walk raised around £18,000 for a fun, learning environment, and hi-tech facilities at the new Shropshire Women and Children's Centre, which will open at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford in September.

So, do the intrepid fundraisers do it again next year? After all it's not easy to keep topping what you've done the year before. At the moment they are undecided but a decision, at least between the two of them, will probably come in October.

"It's quite hard because it's getting quite big. We're not professionals, but there are lots of professionals starting to take part," said Sally. "Professional runners and bike riders. There were people coming from as far afield as Derby. They were using our event as a warm-up for other events they were taking part in. They're coming here as part of their training for other events."

Nick said: "Because we added the run and the cycle ride this year, it's made it a much bigger event. It's getting more and more difficult because now there are expectations for a reasonably professional event, but we are just a couple of amateurs."

In the months leading up to the event, there is rarely an hour that goes by, outside work hours, when they are not involved in some sort of activity that will help to make it successful.

Sally admits that she's the one who goes out to badger businesses for sponsorship while Nick is in charge of the logistical side of thing.

The pair also make a point of completing the event each year – and that's where the blisters and lost toenails come in.

"I lost my first one on Saturday," admits Sally.

But that's just part of the camaraderie that makes the event so special.

"People from different departments will ask 'How many blisters did you get?' or 'How many toenails are you going to lose?'" said Nick.

Despite raising a significant amount of money, it's the bringing people together that has given Nick and Sally the most satisfaction.

And for something that started as a team-building exercise, perhaps it's that sense of togetherness that will act as Nick and Sally's lasting legacy.

Reason for the awards and how to take part:

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's annual Trust Awards are designed to highlight the enthusiastic and innovative efforts of staff at the organisation.

Each year they provide a snapshot of the passion and commitment of the thousands of staff who work at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and in the community, seeking every day to provide the best possible care for half a million people across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Mid Wales.

The Public Choice Award is one of the 10 awards – and the only one to be voted for by the public.

All week, we're bringing you the stories of the five nominees. You can find out how to vote in Saturday's Shropshire Star.

This year's awards will take place in the reception area of the Shropshire Women and Children's Centre at the PRH at 2pm on September 11.

The ceremony will take place ahead of the trust's annual general meeting, which will be held at 3pm in the Education Centre.

Almost 100 nominations were made, a figure on a par with last year. Short-listing has taken place and about 45 nominees have been chosen as the finalists in the awards.

This year there is a revamped set of awards, with a focus on the trust's new values – Proud To Care, Make It Happen, We Value Respect and Together We Achieve.

Four new awards focus on each of the trust's values and there is also a Public Choice Award, which will be open to staff and the wider community to vote for the winner through the Shropshire Star.

The award categories for 2014 are:

• Quality of Care

• Proud To Care

• Make It Happen

• We Value Respect

• Together We Achieve

• Public Choice

• Research and Development

• Academies

• Ward/Department of the Year

• Leader of the Year

A judging panel featuring executive and non-executive directors, senior managers, members of the public and a representative from a partner organisation will decide the winners (Public Choice aside) at the start of next month.

Members of the public are invited to the awards presentation and the AGM and the trust would be delighted if they can attend the event.

If possible people are asked to please let the trust know in advance if they are planning to attend. This will help to ensure there is an information pack available for them, and that they are provided with details about parking on the day.

The Membership Office can be contacted by calling (01743) 261473 or alternatively by emailing members@sath.nhs.uk

• See also: Shining the spotlight on stars of Shropshire's health service