THOUSANDS of pounds has been raised for a Gwent hospice through our fundraising appeal which was launched to celebrate 125 years of the South Wales Argus.

The 125 Appeal was created to raise funds for St David’s Hospice Care in Newport. The money raised will help with the different work that they carry out daily within our community.

From bouncing to singing; people from across the region completed an array of challenges for the appeal.

The team at The Gym in Newport signed up for a fitness challenge of completing 125 miles on a stationary bike in March. In May, David Smith, assistant general manager at The Gym, also ran seven marathons in seven days on a treadmill.

In June, Blaenavon Heritage VC Primary School pupils got active and completed a challenge of 25,000 bounces on mini trampolines for the appeal.

In October, Evolve Fit fitness centre in Rogerstone, raised £1,400 at an event where 180 people took part in a pound fit routine to a live band. In the same month Nuffield Health Club in Cwmbran hosted a 12.5 hour spinathon which raised hundreds of pounds for the appeal.

To celebrate the Argus’ 125th birthday West End star Gerard Carey wowed at a fundraising concert at the event at Newport’s Coldra Court Hotel in July.

Mr Carey’s own mother died of cancer in 2008 and she received end of life care from a hospice, and he said the 125 Appeal is a cause that is close to his heart.

The Ponthir House Inn, which is located on Caerleon Road in Ponthir, hosted a music festival in May and a family day in August to raise money for the appeal.

There have been more quirky fundraisers too. Three-year-old Phoebe Aspey set herself the challenge of building a Lego tower with 125 bricks in memory of her grandmother who used St David’s Hospice Care’s Hospice at Home service.

Daredevil Argus reporter Estel Farell-Roig abseiled down the Newport Transporter Bridge to raise funds for the appeal. While Nicky Cawley, 62, overcame her fear of heights to complete a skydive from 15,000 feet to raise money for our appeal.

If you fancy a challenge in 2018 then you can still join us to help raise funds for this worthy cause. The appeal will be running until our birthday on May 30.

To find out more and to register, call 01633 777005 or email anw@southwalesargus.co.uk

We will be featuring fundraising activities in coming weeks, so get in touch.

Show your support for the 125 appeal by using #125Appeal so we can share your messages online.

Donations of any value can be made online on our special Just Giving page: justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/sdf/SWArgus125

All money raised will help with running costs for the hospice which cares for more than 3,200 patients and families every year, at a cost of more than £7.5 million.

You can also find out more at stdavidshospicecare.org/event-details/125-appeal/