North Devon fundraising legend hangs up her collecting tin – for now!

A North Devon fundraising legend and ‘whirlwind’ organiser has put away her collection tins and set down her collection bucket to retire – for now at least!

Julie Whitton has retired from her fundraising role with the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity after 13 tireless years of rallying the troops, rattling collection tins and raising millions of pounds to help NHS patients across North Devon.

She was a crucial part of the Chemotherapy Appeal to build the Seamoor Chemotherapy Unit at North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) and a little later that same energy saw the creation of the Fern Centre cancer wellbeing centre nearby.

Above: Julie Whitton on retirement day outside the Fern centre at North Devon District Hospital, of which she was a major part of the fundraising drive. Credit: RDHC

That’s not to mention countless other projects including raising £150,000 for the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), as well as upgrading the dementia unit dayroom of the Fortescue Ward Day Unit and the bereavement suite and garden completed last year.

North Devon born and bred, Julie is originally from Bideford but lived much of her life in Barnstaple and for many years, Swimbridge, where she is very well known and usually at the heart of village community projects and fundraising appeals, from the Jubilee Hall to a new play park.

Above: Purple wigs were another Julie Whitton trademark! Credit: RDHC

Julie and her husband Malcolm have two sons, Tom and Sam and two grandchildren, Stanley and Ellie, with another on the way, due at the end of April.

Julie, now aged 61, first joined the then Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust Charitable Fund in 2012 – it was more commonly known as the Chemotherapy Appeal before becoming Over & Above not too long after and today is the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity after the official merger with Exeter.

But long before that, Julie went to work for the NHS on May 17, 1982, starting in the general office and then information statistics, a PA for the chief executives and various directors and the estates team.

She said: “I have loved being part of the NHS and I think it is ingrained in me. I think in North Devon they do an absolutely incredible and amazing job and I have been fortunate as I worked in so many different departments and have been able to see how they tick.

“It’s incredible how they can pull it all together and offer such a great service on our doorstep.”

But fundraising was her true calling and if you have ever been accosted by someone wearing a purple t-shirt and purple wig, chances are you’ve met Julie Whitton!

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A post by the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity praised Julie and her tireless career, saying she was “an absolute whirlwind of a fundraiser, putting the fun in fundraising and championing the NHS she cares so deeply about.”

It added: “Julie has helped raise millions of pounds to enhance NHS care for a generation of patients across North Devon - supporting everything from life-changing cancer services to vital equipment and resources for staff and patients.

“From the very beginning, she has been at the heart of the hospital charity. Her passion, knowledge, kindness and unstoppable energy have inspired thousands of people to support their local NHS.”

Above: Julie and NDDH staff celebrating Purple Day. Credit: RDHC

During her career, Julie conceived or led on a range of innovative fundraising ideas with fundraising manager Ian Roome, from Purple Day which once a year invited people, schools and businesses everywhere to wear the charity’s purple and stage events such as cake sales.

Then there was the Scrumptious Croyde Trail, which combined a running or walking event with street food and produce stalls along the route, inviting participants to pause and nibble on a cream scone or other delicious morsel mid run, while taking in the stunning scenery.

Above: Julie Whitton was a driving force for the £150,000 Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) appeal. Credit: RDHC

But from an early age Julie knew fundraising was her lifetime calling. She said: “I have been involved in fundraising for all my life, my dad was a brilliant fundraiser for Bideford Town Band – I was in the band and watched him at first hand. When I moved to Swimbridge I have been heavily involved in community projects. I am passionate about pulling people together, we have such fun and make things happen.

“When I was given the opportunity to apply for the position at NDDH, I knew it was for me. I have loved every minute of it, I have met the most incredible people who have made all those projects a reality.

“We built the chemo unit with the support of the community of North Devon, because without them it would not have happened and we were very fortunate to have the backing of our local community.”

Seamoor opened in 2015 and the Fern Centre in 2020 but before, after and in between the fundraising train never stopped, with Julie, Ian and the team endlessly raising money for equipment for the Seamoor Unit, to pay for the many therapies offered at Fern, murals around the hospital and donations to the children’s ward, to name a few.

Julie continued: “I was thrilled that we did the Scrumptious Croyde Trail and the topless swim, which now takes place in Ilfracombe every year, as they were just amazing events and got people pulling together.

“Plus the Purple Days and all the films we did such as You’re The One That I Want for SCBU with Ian Roome and our SCBU staff dancing around a Draeger ventilator we wanted and pointing at it. Plus All I Want for Christmas which was a film when the staff got involved for the Fern Centre.”

Above: Julie Whitton, the then fundraising manager Ian Roome and the SCBU team recreate the Grease classic You’re the One that I Want to raise money for a new ventilator. Credit: RDHC

“It was amazing to know James Bonetta from the North Devon Cancer Care Centre Trust. It was that family that spurred the chemo appeal to get the unit built and we were very grateful for their support.”

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The NDCCCT was set up in 1994 by the late Jennifer Bonetta after her husband Tom died from cancer and it raised an astonishing £3million for local cancer services. Jennifer passed away in 2011 but her son James continued the charity until it ceased fundraising in June 2024 with mission accomplished.

Reflecting on it all, Julie said: “We have had amazing times, but it was never one or two, it was a team of people that made all these projects happen.

“It’s not about myself, it’s about the people in the community that have made all these things happen – we are just the people pulling all the threads together.

“We now have an amazing team to take it forward and the work will continue.”

In the meantime, Julie plans to spend more time with her family, but added: “I am sure there will be lots of community projects in the pipeline and I have a new grandchild on the way too. Also I am sure that I will do some volunteering for the hospital charity at some point – they won’t be able to keep me away!”

Above: Unusual cheque presentations were one of Julie’s specialities! Credit: RDHC