By Royal Invite

Deborah Lisle

Bury Hospice trustee invited to Royal Garden Party

Bury Hospice trustee and volunteer, Deborah Lisle, from Bury, is invited to attend a royal garden party at Buckingham Palace, next month.

Deborah is nominated because of all the hard work she puts into staging the annual dance contest, Strictly Best Foot Forward (SBFF), which has raised more than £300,000 for Bury Hospice in six years.

Each summer, more than 30,000 guests are invited to attend a royal garden party, at either Buckingham Palace or Holyrood House, Edinburgh.

There are usually three royal garden parties a year, which enable members of the Royal Family to meet a diverse range of people from across the UK, who have made a positive impact in their community.

SBFF is a huge part of the Bury Hospice calendar, drawing keen amateur dancers to the dance floor in efforts to showcase their talent, while raising vast funds to support palliative and end-of-life care.

Deborah said: “It's an honour to have been nominated and to have been accepted to go to the palace because of all the work that I've done for the hospice with the Strictly event.”

“I'm taking Vivien (Viv) Pascoe with me. Viv came on board to do Strictly the day that we launched and she's still with me; I couldn’t do it without her.”

SBFF will be back in March 2025, for what will be a spectacular night of fundraising and fabulous displays of ballroom and Latin dance routines.

Deborah said: “I'll do my best to represent Bury Hospice at the royal garden party – it's going to be good.”

Helen Lockwood, Bury Hospice CEO, said: “We are so proud of Deborah and the Strictly team. They are so committed to supporting the hospice and the recognition that comes with an invitation to attend the garden party says it all.”

“We have known for a long time that Deborah is amazing at what she does and we hope she and Viv have a great time as it is so well deserved.”

l-r. Deborah Lisle with SBFF 2023 winners, Mark Gregory and Kirsty Allen, and Vivien Pascoe.