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Season's greetings and thanks

22 December 2009

 

Christmas is a time of good will and sharing and at this time of reflection and thanksgiving I would like to take the opportunity to thank all Saint Francis Hospice volunteers and supporters for their continued dedication in helping us support people affected by life-limiting illness by enabling us to provide such specialist clinical care.

We have 8500 volunteers who generously give their time to help in many ways from assisting patients in the hospice and providing services such as complementary therapy and hairdressing, to carrying out administration tasks, working on the Hospice reception and in the gardens. Many of our volunteers are invaluable in their efforts to raise funds for the hospice or spend hundreds of hours sorting through donations and staffing our 15 hospice shops. Without these incredible volunteers we would be unable to provide the level and quality of care that we are so well recognised for giving, so I would like to pay tribute to their hard work and dedication.

There are also our supporters to thank for donating their money, goods and services. We depend on their contributions to help us raise the £6.5 million needed this year alone to enable us to support around 4,000 seriously ill people and their families from Havering, Brentwood, Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge each year and improve their quality of life.

2009 has been a special year for Saint Francis Hospice as we celebrated our 25th anniversary and launched our own unique ‘Love Everlasting’ rose and a book highlighting how we have developed since opening in July 1984. We also hosted our first ladies midnight walk, which was an incredible success and thanks to more than 500 women we raised nearly £80,000. 

We have faced various challenges this year due to the economic downturn and temporarily had to restrict the number of inpatient beds open and carry out more care in the community as a result of donations being down and investments affected by lower returns. The New Year will see us opening up to 18 beds again – but we can only do this and provide a full complement of services with your CONTINUED support. Many of you have signed up to make regular donations to the Hospice through our Sponsor a Nurse appeal, which is helping us plan for the future with reliable income.

So from myself, the trustees, directors and staff - thanks to everyone for supporting Saint Francis Hospice and here’s wishing you a happy festive season and all the best for 2010.
 

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