THE Wiltshire Gazette and Herald has launched a campaign to raise £30,000 for Dorothy House Hospice Care by the end of the year and is inviting readers to take part.

This year is the hospice's 30th anniversary and many fundraising events are geared to that number.

The money raised by the Gazette will help pay for an extra nurse to work in the Hospice at Home scheme.

This allows people to be cared for with dignity in their own homes surrounded by their loved-ones and all the things they hold most dear.

To help you think up fundraising ideas, the staff at Dorothy House have come up with 30 ways you can raise cash for their cause.

1: Set up a regular gift to Dorothy House worth £30 a quarter or month.

2 :Make a one-off donation of £30.

3: Put 30p in a Dotty Bank once a week or every day you'll be amazed at how much you can raise.

4: Get 30 members of staff to sign up to Payroll Giving/Give As You Earn.

5: Sponsored swim: 30 lengths of your local pool.

6: Sponsored fitness boost: do 30 press-ups in the office (or at home) every day for 30 days.

7: Sponsored fast: can you hold out for 30 hours without a bite to eat?.

8: Sponsored sing-a-thon. Your school class, church or choir could sing 30 songs, or even organise a 30-hour singing marathon.

9: Sponsored silence: can you give up the gossip for 30 hours?

10: Sponsored walk: how about a brisk 30-mile or kilometre walk?

11: Arrange a safari supper for 30 guests.

12: Hold a 1930s-style tea dance in your village or church hall.

13: Get the whole office involved in a 15-a-side tug of war competition.

14: Take 30 items to your local Dorothy House shop.

15: Celebrating your 30th birthday or anniversary this year? Why not get your friends and family to donate to Dorothy House instead of getting you another pair of novelty socks?

16: Have a 1976 mufti day at work or school: dress up as your favourite icon from 1976.

17: Donate 30 hours of your time by volunteering for Dorothy House.

18: Spend a day cleaning 30 cars in your local area and ask your customers for a donation.

19: Organise a wine tasting event with 30 guests or even 30 wines.

20: Buy 30 Dorothy House Christmas cards.

21: Invite 30 friends over for a party.

22: Invite 30 friends over for coffee and a slice of birthday cake.

23: Bake 30 fairy cakes or biscuits and sell them to all your friends at school.

24: Organise a quiz with ten teams of three or include a special round on the number 30.

25: Knit 30 scarves to sell.

26: Hold a dinner party and invite your friends to make a £30 donation to Dorothy House.

27: Parachute from 10,000 feet three times.

28: Climb a 3,000ft peak.

29: Abseil down a 30-storey building if you can find one.

30: Do anything else at all. The more original your idea, the better your fundraising events will be.

For more ideas or to chat over one of your own, ring the DH fundraising team on (01225) 721480.