We’re proud to be one of more than 143 hospices taking part in the “This is Hospice Care” campaign, a national initiative led by Hospice UK.
The goal is to encourage people to consider leaving a gift in their Will to support their local hospice, ensuring that these essential services can continue to provide compassionate and specialist care for future generations.
A powerful TV advert based on real-life hospice stories highlights how vital end-of-life-care is.
To maintain this crucial support, sustainable funding is essential – gifts in Wills already amount to over a fifth of our hospices’ income and without it, they simply couldn’t provide the care that is so desperately needed in the community.
Becki Jupp, Deputy CEO of Southern Hospice Group, highlights the importance of protecting hospice care: “We’re thrilled to be part of this important campaign. It not only highlights the critical work we do but also the lasting impact that gifts in Wills can have on our ability to continue providing care for the families in our community.”
Chestnut Tree House supports children and families who know they don’t have long together. The care they receive allows them to live life to the full and make memories.
Nellie Sunshine and her family are currently being supported by Chestnut Tree House. She was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease at the age of two. This condition causes damage to her nervous system and now, aged 5, she needs extensive care.
Chestnut Tree House not only cares for Nellie, the team also provides counselling and respite for her parents. Her mum Megan is grateful for the support and highlights the difference it makes: “Our Chestnut nurse, Emma, has become our lighthouse in this storm. With her, Nellie has been able to enjoy experiences I never could have imagined. Together, they have been dry-slope skiing, ridden a speedboat and even had a go at accessible sailing and ice skating.”
Megan has also set herself fundraising challenges to raise much-needed funds for the hospice and adds: “Families like ours are going through the worst thing imaginable, but the support of Chestnut Tree House really has helped. That’s why we want to say thank you while Nellie is still with us, as a way of honouring her.”
Nellie’s story highlights the compassionate care Chestnut Tree House can offer and it’s vital that these services can continue for years to come.
Read Nellie’s story on the Chestnut Tree House website.
Paula has left a gift in her Will to Martlets in gratitude for the support she and her late son Gordon received. Gordon was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2018 and sadly died in 2020. Shortly after his diagnosis, he was referred to the hospice, where he was given equipment to aid his mobility. He also benefited from specialist care provided by physiotherapists, nurses and doctors. There was additional spiritual support provided too.
Gifts in Wills are greatly needed, and Paula has expressed why she chose to leave a gift saying: “Being able to leave something in my Will to the hospice makes me feel very proud. I care about my community and would like my gift to be used to make someone’s life easier, just as they helped my son and us as a family.”
Read Paula’s story on the Martlets website.
In 2015, Ian’s wife Susan received care from St Barnabas House as her health declined due to a rapidly growing brain tumour. Initially, nurses treated her at home, but in her final four weeks, she was admitted to the hospice, where she was cared for until she died.
Ian has thrown his energy into supporting the hospice by becoming a volunteer and a fundraiser, but he also wanted to leave a donation in his Will and explains why: “While it was easy to see what I could do while I was alive, I also wanted to think about what would happen after I died. It’s for that reason that I decided to leave a gift to St Barnabas in my Will.”
He added: “In a way, I think of it as my gift to the future. Nobody knows what’s going to happen to us – when we’re going to fall ill or die, or what care we’re going to need. “
Ian’s story highlights the compassionate care that St Barnabas House can offer and it’s vital that these services can continue for years to come.
Read Ian’s story on the St Barnabas House website.