Young Lancaster hospice supporter receives letter from the Queen

Georgia won the Virgin Design a Mask competition to create a winning design for facemasks in 2020.

On winning the competition the facemasks were produced by Virgin and donated to the hospice to raise funds for St John’s Hospice.

The masks were then available in the following shops for donations: St John's Hospice Charity shops across north Lancashire and the South Lakes, St John’s Hospice, Boots in Kirkby Lonsdale and Renee's Fashion in Lancaster.

Georgia then wrote to the Queen telling her about her facemasks and fundraising for St John’s and included a facemask with the letter.

Georgia, her mum Judith and sister Scarlet were all excited to receive a reply letter from the Queen’s Lady in Waiting, which said how interested the Queen was to hear about Georgia’s facemasks and fundraising support for the hospice and how kind it was to enclose a mask for her to see.

The letter finished by saying: “Letters such as yours give the Queen much encouragement and I am to thank you for your thoughtfulness in writing to Her Majesty, which is greatly appreciated.”

Georgia explained why she chose to fundraise for St John’s Hospice: “My school has been involved in lots of Hospice projects like the Elf Run and Reindeer Rush. I like St John’s and I wanted to help them because they are local and need our help.”

Judith said: “St John’s is close to my heart and so when Georgia said she wanted to do this I was really pleased. She did the design and all the work of her own back – we’re so proud of her and to receive the letter from the Queen is just the icing on the cake!”

Rachael Makinson, senior fundraising executive at St John’s Hospice, said: “We are thrilled for Georgia and her family! To see her hard work and support for St John’s before and throughout the pandemic recognised by Her Majesty is just wonderful. Thank you, Georgia, and well done!”