By Leicester Mercury | Posted April 23, 2013
Fewer people are taking part in charity fundraising events due to the bad weather and economic climate, a hospice has claimed.
LOROS, off Groby Road, Leicester, has seen a decline in the amount of money being donated by the public.
Donations to stores and the number of people buying the charity's lottery tickets are also down.
Bosses say they are tens of thousands of pounds down on what they would have expected to raise so far this year.
It comes on top of a £300,000 reduction in Government funding this year.
LOROS chief executive Simon Proffitt (pictured right) said: "Our ability to guarantee an income is under pressure.
"Some of it is down to the wet weather. We had the Twilight Walk and the number of people was down, which meant the sponsorship was down, too.
"It's partly because of the numbers and partly because of the economy.
"Undoubtedly, we're seeing a drop-off with the money raised from annual events."
The funding LOROS receives from the Government has been reduced from £2.3 million to £2 million a year.
Mr Proffitt said: "It's really difficult because we need to raise funds for people in our care and the demand is increasing as people are living longer."
He said people were withdrawing from the regular LOROS Lottery and the charity's stores had seen a fall in donations.
"We rely on people donating unwanted items, but if they're feeling the pinch they might hold on to their clothes for a bit longer."
The charity's next big event is its annual Ladies Luncheon at the King Power Stadium on May 15.
The evening usually raises about £10,000.
Other events include a bike ride at Rutland Water next month and a fun run in June.
LOROS fund-raiser Christian Weikert-Picker said his team was working hard to come up with new ideas.
He said: "There's only so much in anyone's pocket and we're just one charity of many asking for help.
"Overall, we are tens of thousands down on what we would have hoped to have raised so far this calendar year."
People are also being asked to consider including LOROS in their wills. Next month, the charity will be offering advice on how to write wills and how to donate.
For more information, call 0116 231 8431, or visit the LOROS website
