13 November 2024

Alexa raises £100s for Pilgrims Hospices with beautiful bracelets

8-year-old Alexa Bolger from Westgate-on-Sea was inspired to support Pilgrims Hospices after loved ones and family friends received the charity’s care.


In the school summer holidays, Alexa’s grandma, Betty (Gan Gan) gave her £10 pocket money, which she used to buy clay beads to make bracelets. Alexa set up a stall outside her house and sold the bracelets, raising £218 for Pilgrims in just five days, thanks to the kind support and donations of passersby.

Alexa also attended the Thanet 5k Colour Run in Palm Bay, Cliftonville on 6 October 2024, where she sold more bracelets and raised another £150. Laurel House Dentist in Margate are supporting Alexa to raise even more for Pilgrims by selling her bracelets in memory of their colleague, Sharron. In total, Alexa and her family have contributed £100 to purchase the beads, and to date, she has raised an incredible £573.90 for local hospice care.

Alexa at Thanet 5k Colour Run with her mum, Clare, and Karen Kenward, Community Fundraising Manager

Alexa said: “I want to help people who are poorly and need Pilgrims care, so they can be a little bit happier in the time they have left. I hope my fundraising helps to buy medicine for them and the care they need.”

Karen Kenward, Community Fundraising Manager, added:

“Alexa came to see us in August 2024 with a donation of £218 from bracelet sales that she had made by asking family and friends for a small donation, to help raise awareness and support for our hospice services. Since then, she has taken the idea to her school and raised further funds, including supporting our Thanet 5k Colour Run and raising an additional £150 on the day! Today, her funding is sitting at £573.90.

“Alexa is a real superstar! Aged just 8 years old, and to be so very committed to our charity’s cause, is so wonderful to see. We at Pilgrims, her mum Clare, and her family and friends, are so very proud of her commitment. Thank you so very much, Alexa, you really bring a smile to my face every time I see you.”

If you’ve been inspired by Alexa and would like to fundraise for Pilgrims in the Thanet area, we’d love to hear your story. Please contact Karen Kenward:


Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patientsown homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.