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Celebrating our unsung heroes

23 December 2009

Earlier this year we launched a Hospice Heroes competition as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations to recognise the dedication and efforts of volunteers and fundraisers.

We were inundated with entries and the judging team was moved by the stories of those nominated – people who have overcome illness themselves, experienced hospice care or taken on personal challenges to raise funds.

Jane Frame, Director of Fundraising and Marketing, said: “It was a difficult job choosing the winners because all of our volunteers and supporters deserve to be thanked for their support. We are there for the community, thanks to the community and depend on your ongoing support to ensure we are able to provide our specialist care for patients and families when they need it.”

Each winner is receiving a trophy and the individuals awarded Fundraising Hero and Valued Volunteer £30 of gift vouchers kindly donated by Sainsbury’s, Romford, which is partnering Saint Francis Hospice as its charity of the year.

And the winners are:
Valued volunteer
Pam Jones
Pam has been a volunteer for 16 years and started off on reception and for several years has been volunteer co-ordinator and helps organise applications from volunteers and rotas.
She is always there with a smile and goes beyond the call of duty coming in extra hours to cover reception when volunteers are needed.

Fundraising Hero
Paul Freedman MBE
Paul has been raising money for Saint Francis Hospice for more than a decade and has collected in excess of £70,000 by running 11 London Marathon’s and putting on concerts with his singing group. The Entertainers.  At 84 Paul is an inspiration to us all as he pounds the pavements in all weathers and takes part in street collections.
Over and above all that for the last 16 years Paul has spent Christmas day at the hospice helping out where he can.
Paul said: “It’s an honour to be thanked by the hospice as I have a soft spot for its work. My wife Renee was cared for at home by the hospice nurses before she died and they were extremely helpful.”

School Support
The Warren School, Chadwell Heath
Pupils and teachers have raised in excess of £2,200 for the hospice through a range of events including sponsored walk, sale of handmade Christmas cards, a big breakfast and football tournaments.
Janet Heywood, who volunteers as a weekend receptionist at the hospice and is deputy head at the secondary school, set up a fundraising link between the school and hospice and students have visited the hospice to learn about the care we provide.

Outstanding Organisation
Chums Charity
The Chums Charity are a group of four childhood friends and their partners who organise dinner and dances and other fundraising events. They are Bill Lintott, Ray Graves, Ian Alexander and Geoff Pike and this year have presented £10,000 to us, which they raised from a charity ball attended by 450 people.
Bill said: “It’s great to be recognised for our support, but we have fun raising money for the hospice and are only too pleased to help as we want the hospice to be there with its specialist care for people with cancer or any life limiting illness in the future.
“We started fundraising as Ray’s mum was cared for by the hospice and she wanted us to do something as she found the support and care a great comfort.”

Business Contribution
Towergate Underwriting Household, Romford
Towergate Underwriting Household in Romford (TUH) is part of the giant Towergate Partnership who have been supporting the hospice movement for 10 years. TUH has adopted Saint Francis Hospice as its charity and staff regularly raise funds through events such as themed dress down days, raffles even jumping from an aeroplane. This year TUH has raised in excess of £12,000 for Saint Francis Hospice, money that has paid for new lockers for patients to use when they come into the hospice for care as an in-patient.

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