News Stories
Jam Jars
Can you help? Audrey, our lovely jam making lady has run out of useful jam jars and would be very grateful if you had any to spare. She would prefer them to be 'Clean, lidded and 10 fluid ounce jars'. She would also welcome anyone who would like to help with jam making to keep up with demand. If you can help with the jars bring them into the Hospice in Alnwick and if you can help with the jam let us have your name so we can put you in touch with Audrey.
Tip to Toe Cycle Ride 2nd June 2013
30 cyclists from Breeze Bikes Cycling Club in Amble cycled between each of Northumberland's 12 Household Waste Recycling Centres in just 12 hours. Starting at Berwick at 8.00am they had a 160 mile ride to Haltwhistle via Wooler, North Sunderland, Alnwick, Morpeth, North Seaton, Bebside, Kirkley Thorn, Prudhoe, Hexham and Allandale. Thank you and well done.
You can still support the riders by going to BtMyDonate by following this link, click here.
Image Gallery
Can you put up a poster for us?
We are looking for anyone who might be able to 'post a poster' for us to help advertise the Hospice more widely. The posters are A4 colour and would display to advantage in your local shop, pub, community centre, church hall, garage - in fact one would be a decided asset to any display area (do ask permission first!).
If you think you could help, get in touch either by phone 01665 606515, or pop in and see us in Alnwick and pick one up.
Things to look forward to
July 23rd 10 year Anniversary Celebration
August 10th St Cuthbert's Way Challenge Walk
September Great North Run
September 15th Fly Fishing with Lucy Bowden
Check out the following events: Open Gardens - Shawdon Hall and LilburnTower in July, Tea and Talk events in September and November.
Northumberland Music Festival Nov 2013
Come along to the 3rd Northumberland Music Festival, taking place at three different venues there is always an eclectic mix of music at the lunchtime and evening concerts.
November 8th - 10th Eschott Hall
November 15th - 17th Doxford Hall
November 22nd - 24th Guyzance Hall
Last year the Festival supported three local charities, of which we were one, raising £800 for each of us.
Look out for more information.
Are You a Smarty Pants
Here’s the Challenge: Share a tube of Smarties with your family and friends, and then fill the empty tube with 20p pieces – a full Smartie tube will hold £13 of 20p coins. The challenge is open to everyone and all tubes received by Monday 10th December 2013 will be entered into a prize draw for a £5.00 book token.
This Challenge is open to anyone, take as long as you like to fill the empty tube, and drop it off at one of our two Day Therapy Centres.
If you are a school, please call us now for a fundraising pack.
click here.
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Charity CD
Craig Clash one of our supporters had just released a CD entitled 'Joe my Guitar Hero' (Classic Covers of FanClashtic Songs by the Clash) Price £10 proceeds to HospiceCare. To buy a copy email Craig at craigclash1984@hotmail.co.uk
MASSIVE THANK YOU
THANK YOU. Thank you for attending our events and supporting HospiceCare we hope you have had as an enjoyable time as we have. Take a look at what we have coming up for the summer, indoors as well as outdoors we hope you can join us again.
We would like to pass a MASSIVE THANK YOU on to all our volunteers who have helped make these successful. Even the smallest job you do to assist the fundraising team makes a big difference!!
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The trek was certainly an adventure and more gruelling than I had imagined. Each day brought about different dramatic scenery and specific challenges. I would say that the
hardest aspect was the altitude. From the first day we were out of breath with each step, passing through the cloud line. On day two, we were making slow progress.
The main problem I experienced was feeling very sick each morning for a couple of hours, up until the last day at 5000m, when I started to get strong headaches.
Despite this the final day, was, of course, one to remember. Starting at midnight, 1500m below the summit, in the pitch darkness, very thin air and approximately minus 30 degrees ! The sun came up at around 7.00am when we reached the false summit called Senna Point. This was one of the greatest moments knowing that with one more ridge we would be there - Uhuru peak ! Clear views all round, and they were
extraordinary ! We reached the summit around 9.00am stopping for
photos before a quick descent to base camp, and then a two day trek out of the park.
Many thanks to everyone who supported me on my trek.
Hopefully I should have made around £1500 for the Hospice, whose work in my community is invaluable, operating almost entirely from charitable donations - like this. (p.s. I funded the trek up the
mountain and so all the money raised goes to the charity )
Ben McMorrow
Thank you Ben sounds amazing!!
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Fundraising Events
Give a Minute Campaign
Give a Minute Could you support HospiceCare for one minute of work?
This year HospiceCare must raise £300,000 to continue providing care and support to patients and their families throughout North Northumberland and into the Scottish Borders. That's £25,000 per month, £1,250 per day or £3 each working minute.
Could you Give a Minute by sponsoring HospiceCare for just £3 a month, a week or even a day to help fund the fantastic care we provide in your local community?
For example every month you could donate:
- £3 to sponsor one minute each month
- £6 to sponsor two minutes each month
- £12 to sponsor one minute each week
- £24 to sponsor two minutes each week
- £26 to sponsor three minutes each week
- £90 to sponsor one minute each day
- £180 to sponsor two minutes each day
Every minute counts for our patients - please donate now.
Donate Online!
It costs around £300,000 each year to offer our current level of service, less than 15% of this amount comes from the NHS or other statutory sources. Financial contributions to the work of the hospice are vital.
To donate online, please click the Just Giving button on the right of the page.
10 things you need to know about the Hospice
- 1) HospiceCare, the most northerly Hospice in England with centres in Alnwick & Berwick, was founded in 1995.
- 2) We serve a community of 57,000 in one of the most sparsely populated rural areas in England.
- 3) Our annual running costs for 2010 are around £300,000 – that’s £1250 per working day or £3.00 per working minute!
- 4) We receive just 15% of our annual costs from the NHS, we have to raise about a quarter of a million pounds each year from the local community & other sources.
- 5) Our team of over 100 volunteers save us over £55,000 per year.
- 6) We provide care and support for over 250 patients & their families each year, – that’s an increase of 100% in the last two years!
- 7) Despite our catchment area containing the largest percentage of people over 65 years in the Northeast the demand for appointments for the 30+ age group is increasing.
- 8) Our Hospice at Home service helps provide short term respite for patients & their families together with expert end of life care at home.
- 9) Our Bereavement Support Service is available to all – even those who have had no previous contact with the Hospice.
- 10) We are a truly local charity providing a unique invaluable service to the local community.
Patient's and families stories
“The speed to which you responded to our needs was tremendous. It was a lifeline to us both and I especially appreciate the support you gave me in allowing my weekend breaks. Thank you”.
“Thank you for all your help and support, especially to those who organised carers and those who came to care, either during the day or at night. It was wonderful to be able to relax (a little!) and get some much needed sleep.
We looked forward to the carers coming and felt they were our friends as well carers. I realize that it is not easy to go in to a home where there is illness and stress, but all of you carers achieved this with professionalism and patience. All of the carers were cheerful, gentle, caring, kind and considerate, and it was always a joy to have them.
God bless you all for the service you give to our local community”.
“In particular the fact that you were able to care for me in our home was great, as it is not easy walking in bandages! Many, many thanks.”
“I am writing to thank you and all your colleagues for their kindness and dedication in the care of my wife”.
‘Hospice at Home ‘is a wonderful organization we were so lucky to have your support.”
"Coming to the Hospice for day care has given me some friendship and my wife a day off, all of the staff are excellent and listen to my needs. I look forward to coming - it is the highlight of my week."
"Sometimes it's hard to get out of bed in the morning to come to the hospice but it's worth the effort. The compassion I get from coming here is what I look forward to. My family are OK but some don't want to know about my illness , or they don't want to believe that I'm ill. I've always talked about my cancer from when I first had it because I think it might help others. People get better when they come to the Hospice - we don't all pop our clogs! It's a place for hope and we encourage each other, you have to be positive. My cancer is behaving itself at the moment and with the help of the staff at HospiceCare I am controlling it, I'm going to die of old age, not my illness."
"I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate how much you did for me and Dad. Without you I would not have had anytime to do nice things.
You always had time for me and I looked forward to our chats, you may not realise but without you I would have found life very difficult. Thank you so much, I will never forget."
"I would like to thank all the staff at the Hospice for the time you spent with my husband. Ken was driven by a volunteer from our home to the Hospice every week, he was made to feel special and it was a day he looked forward to. It was something to make him feel as if he wasn’t on the scrap heap anymore. He would always talk about the great things that had happened whilst he was at day care and it helped me to have a day to myself. Thank you again for all the help and support you gave my family, it helped us to cope."
"Just a few words to say thank you to you and the team for all your kindness and support during Paul's last few months of his illness. Help was always available and various staff members came to our home bringing their own special abilities with them, therefore helping Paul and myself cope with the sadness of knowing he was going to die. It was wonderful to be able to look after him at home, but I could not have done that without all the support given. I will be forever grateful."
Alison's Story
My name is Alison Colledge and I have been volunteering with HospiceCare for two and a half years. I saw a notice in the local post office asking for volunteers to work at the hospice and as a former nurse, the day care side appealed to me so I gave it a go!
I really enjoyed day care but the work of HospiceCare is ever changing and the needs of the people who use the hospice is changing.
I was asked if I would like to help with the running of a clinic that has replaced day care on Wednesdays. It offers patients an opportunity to come in, perhaps have a complementary therapy, a chance to talk and of course a cup of tea!
The time I have been helping with the clinic has been very enjoyable.
Judith's Story
My name is Judith Draper and I have been helping out at the Hospice in Alnwick for over 4 years. I do massage therapies and Reiki. The patients get so much out of these therapies and I am very glad to help, as I can fit my volunteering in easily with my private practice.
Chris's Story
It gives me a great feeling of pleasure to think how far we have come since 1994 when our hospice was just an idea. As a founder trustee it has been a real privilege to see the service develop over the years, not to mention a lot of hard work by a large number of people! But I would not have missed any of it.
I began work as a Macmillan nurse in 1992 and it was apparent there was a need for more local palliative care services to save patients travelling to and from Newcastle.
When a district nurse colleague and myself went to a lecture early in 1994 describing the benefits of Day Hospice care we knew that we needed something like that in our area. With support from health professionals and local people a group was formed and we took our ideas to the wider community in a series of meetings.
We also had the backing of our friend Hazel Marsden from the Marsden Charitable Trust. In recognition of her generous support our hospice property in Berwick is named after Hazel.
The strength of the community support carried us on to appoint staff and volunteers to set up a service offering day care one day a week in Alnwick and Berwick. Joan Robson and
her staff and volunteers welcomed patients for the first time in October 1995. It takes a substantial amount of money, and huge team effort from our staff, volunteers and trustees to provide services working closely with existing healthcare services.
I have seen how patients, their carers and family benefit from the numerous services we provide and how in many cases patients would struggle to be cared for at home without HospiceCare's valuable support. Our Hospice at Home service has demonstrated just how we can enable patients to remain at home, if existing services are unable to offer the level of support required.
Yet as many hospices around the country are well aware without the generous support from our local communities we would not be able to provide these important services.
So a big thank you once again for your continued support, we do appreciate it.