MEMBERS of staff at Basingstoke-based Sentinel Housing Association have been busy selling their unwanted clothes, making cakes, holding raffles and washing cars over the past year to raise money for Naomi House and Jacksplace.

The housing association set themselves a target to raise £10,000 for the hospices for children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.

However, they soon beat this goal and went on to raise the magnificent total of £20,052.

Some of Sentinel’s more adventurous staff jumped out of planes, abseiled down Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower and whizzed down Europe’s longest and fasted zip line to help achieve their tremendous total.

Other’s kept their feet on the ground by participating in the charity’s annual Santa Run in Winchester and around the Isle of Wight.

The money raised will make a great deal of difference to the charity that provides care to young people and their families in communities across Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

Cathryn Gee, Sentinel’s head of HR, said: “We’re really pleased and proud to have raised over £20,000 for Naomi House and Jacksplace.

“This is the first time we’ve supported one charity for a year and we’ve really enjoyed all the fundraising activities and challenges we’ve taken part in. The experience has helped to bring our 200 staff closer together as we’ve strived to exceed our fundraising target.”

Naomi House and Jacksplace’s head of fundraising, Paul Morgan, added: “The team at Sentinel Housing Association really have amazed us here at the hospices. The way in which the whole organisation has got behind their year of support for Naomi House and Jacksplace has been truly inspiring.

“We are extremely grateful to Sentinel for the phenomenal support they have shown throughout the year. To have raised more than double their original target is quite an achievement and enables us to provide even more valuable care and support to local families.”