Hospice unveils Strictly St. Joseph's 2022 line up

ST Joseph's Hospice has unveiled the 10 dancers who have signed up to take part in its Strictly St Joseph's fundraising event in September. All 10 participants will hit the training room over the summer before they perform live at the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool on 24 September in the hope of raising lots of money for the Thornton based charity.

The 10 Strictly St. Joseph's contestants are:- Aaron Pearson, Becca Cordey, Christine Makin, Clare Whitehead, Donna Murphy, Elizabeth Brown Blackburn, Jennifer Swain, Joseph McEvoy, Keri Bristow, and Sarah Gadzina.

Aaron, a Solicitor from Southport, enquired about some Latin American dance classes at our partner Marshside School of Dance when they told him about the event. As a huge Strictly fan, he couldn't resist. Becca, from Crosby, attended the Hospice's Strictly event last year and had so much fun so she decided that she would give it a go. She loves dancing to anything from Nirvana to Dolly Parton so is hoping for something fun and energetic. Christine, from Waterloo, says that Strictly is something she has always wanted to do. She says watching Strictly on the TV is like a little bit of magic on a Saturday night.

Clare, from Formby, is a Macmillan Nurse who started her career at St Joseph's Hospice when she was 16! Not having watched a lot of Strictly, she says:- "I don't really know what I am doing here, as I truly can't dance but it's such a great charity who do amazing work and I'm up for anything once so I'm ready to give this my all."

Donna, from Crosby, can't wait to get on the dancefloor and is looking forward to supporting the Hospice. She says;- "Watching dancing is joyful and I love seeing the journey the celebrities go on. The theme tune alone is enough to cheer me up!"

Elizabeth, from Thornton, says that St. Joseph's Hospice is very close to her heart. She only started watching Strictly a couple of years ago, but now she's a big fan and loves all the dresses and upbeat dances. Jennifer, from Seaforth, is huge Strictly fan and has always dreamt of being on the show. Jen loves the glitter, the costumes, the music, and the dancing and is hoping she will get the chance to do something fast and funky. Joseph, from West Derby, is a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing and is looking forward to raising money for the Hospice and learning a new style of dance.

Keri, from Hightown, loves Strictly and is very excited to support the Hospice. She is hoping for something up tempo like the Quick Step, Jive or Cha Cha but most of all she wants to have fun whilst raising money for a good cause. Sarah, from Formby, is the HR administrator at the Hospice. She said:- "Since I joined the Hospice team last year, I have seen 1st hand what our brilliant Nurses and carers do every day and I think they are amazing. I have no dance experience but I love the sparkle of Strictly. I'm looking forward to learning my dance and meeting the other contestants but, most of all, wearing a fabulous frock and having loads of fun."

For the 2nd year running, the Hospice is collaborating with the Marshside School of Dance in Southport who are providing experienced dance partners and training sessions for the challenge. Maxine Armstrong, head of fundraising at St. Joseph's Hospice, said:- "Strictly St. Joseph's is back for a 2nd year and, after last year's success, we are all incredibly excited. We have 10 dancers this year and are delighted with the team we have on board. They are all fabulous personalities who will really give this challenge their all and want to raise as much money as they can for the Hospice so please show them your support. We are really looking forward to following their progress as they being their dance lessons and get closer to the live show in September. Tickets are on sale now and it is going to be a fantastic evening so don't miss out. We also have a variety of corporate sponsorship opportunities available for businesses to get involved in so please get in touch if you would like to buy tickets or find out more about sponsorship."

More details about our Strictly St. Joseph's Dancers, and how you can sponsor them, are available online.

Tickets for Strictly St. Joseph's cost £55 each, which includes a:- delicious 4 course meal, entertainment, LIVE Strictly show and a disco until 1am. Tickets can purchased from the Hospice by calling:- 0151 932 6044 or 0151 932 6046 or emailing:- Events@StJHospice.Org.UK.

Worryingly Instagram, TikTok and YouTube teenagers' top 3 news sources

TEENAGERS in the UK are turning away from traditional news channels and are instead looking to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to keep up to date, Ofcom has found. Ofcom's News Consumption in the UK 2021/22 report shows that, for the 1st time, Instagram is the most popular news source among teenagers; used by 29% in 2022. TikTok and YouTube follow closely behind, used by 28% of youngsters to follow news. BBC 1 and BBC 2; historically the most popular news sources among teens; have been knocked off top spot down to 5th place. 24% of teens use these channels for news in 2022, compared to 45% just 5 years ago. The proportion using Facebook for news has also decreased to 22% from 27% last year, and from 34% in 2018. But, quite how true this is, is open to debate, as the vast majority of these claims come from US based websites. It also again raises huge questions on who controls the media in the UK and how it is regulated.... We would love to hear your thoughts on this, so please email us to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com with your thoughts on this very worrying topic.

Other findings include:-

► BBC 1 remains the most used news source among online adults, although it is 1 of several major TV News channels to reach fewer people in 2022. News viewing to BBC One, BBC Two, BBC News Channel, ITV and Sky News is now below pre-Pandemic levels, resuming a longer term decline in traditional TV news viewing.

► TikTok clocks up millions more news users. Conversely, TikTok has seen the largest increase in use of any news source between 2020 and 2022; from 0.8 million UK adults in 2020 (1%), increasing to 3.9 million UK adults in 2022 (7%).[3] This brings it onto a par with Sky News' website and app.

► TV news remains trusted. TV news remains the most trusted news source among UK adults (71%), with news on social media considered the least reliable (35%). CNN (83%) and Sky News (75%) are highly trusted by their viewers for news. 67% of newcomer GB News's viewers trust its news reporting.

► Decline in print news appears to accelerate. The combined use of print and online newspapers among adults is 38% in 2022, a significant decrease from 2020 (47%) and 2018 (51%). This is driven by the substantial decline of print newspaper reach in recent years, with the trend seen pre-Pandemic appearing to accelerate, likely exacerbated by the Pandemic.

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Hospice unveils Strictly St. Joseph's 2022 line up

Worryingly Instagram, TikTok and YouTube teenagers' top 3 news sources