"We need a team building exercise, any ideas?" was the question posed by Jill Brown, Activities Coordinator at Keate House Care Home in Lymm, Cheshire.

Raft-building was quickly vetoed.  Next suggestion, a night in a haunted house!  There was much debate as to whether we were, collectively, brave enough.  Then Jill drops the bombshell "it can be for charity" and there was no way we could turn her down!

Jill set about organising the event and discovered Newsham Park Hospital in Liverpool.  Reputedly one of the most haunted buidlings in the country!  Coincidentally, Keate House and Newsham Park Hospital share the same architect - the great Alfred Waterhouse.  Responsible for buildings around the country such as Manchester Town Hall and the National History Museum in London, his neo-gothic designs add drama and grandeur to the buildings he created.

Everyone participating has paid for their own place and Daniel from Haunted Hunts (www.thehauntedhunts.co.uk) will be our guide as we make our way around the derelict and incredibly scary old building!  The event starts on Friday 2nd June at 9 pm and goes through to 4 am the following morning!  

Who will still be there at the end?  Who will have run screaming in terror at the sound of the first floorboard creak!?

On a serious note, we have chosen two charities close to our hearts.

We work with residents who have varying levels of dementia and we feel it is important to support the work of the charity - Alzheimers Society.  Through their work and research, activities and events, the disease can be better understood and each person with the illness can be better supported and assisted to live as full a life as possible.

Our next charity is Ronald McDonald House, Alder Hey.  Our residents chose this as they recognise the importance supporting families who have children staying in hospital long term or far away from home.

We are aiming to raise £1000, to be split between the two charities. Please note: as the Just Giving set-up doesn't accommodate distributing funds between two charities, they advise setting-up 2 separate pages and then linking them with a 'team' page.   Our team is called Keate House Ghost Busters.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.