Monday 5 October will mark the beginning of the fifth Hospice Care Week, the annual national campaign to raise awareness and dispel myths around hospice care.
The theme for this Hospice Care Week, which runs from 5-11 October, is ‘Connecting Care’. Over the next week, St Elizabeth Hospice will be sharing some of the innovative ways it connect with local communities, people and other organisations.
As a local charity at the heart of the community of East Suffolk, St Elizabeth Hospice strives to connect with everyone in the local community to raise awareness of the services it provide, and raise the much-needed funds to continue to provide its vital care.
Every year, hospices across the country take the opportunity during Hospice Care Week to educate and inform their local communities about what hospice care involves, to spread the word about all the services they offer to people living with a progressive illness, and to talk about the many ways anyone can get involved and support them.
This Hospice Care Week, St Elizabeth Hospice will be telling you about some of the services it runs, how they work with other organisations to care for local people, and the many ways it connect with patients, families and carers, through therapies, groups
Dispelling the myths
• Hospices aren’t just places people go to die. People come into a hospice to access a variety of services, from day care, to therapies, to outpatient appointments, as well as to stay on the inpatient unit. Patients can be cared on the inpatient unit for pain relief, for respite, or for end of life care.
• A hospice isn’t just a building. Hospice care is provided everywhere, wherever it is required, whether at home, in the community or at the hospice.
• Hospices don’t only care for people with cancer. We support patients living with any progressive illness such as motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, or heart, lung or kidney disease.
• Hospices aren’t only for old people. St Elizabeth Hospice cares for anyone aged 14 and upwards living with a progressive illness and is currently working with young adult services to ensure young people have access to the care and support they need.
• It’s not all doom and gloom. Hospices are actually quite happy places where staff and volunteers help improve the quality of life for patients and families, rebuild independence and support people to cope with their illnesses
What’s happening this Hospice Care Week?
Hospice Care Week falls in the month of St Elizabeth Hospice’s first ever Big Bucket-a-thon which sees the local charity holding collections and bag packs in towns and supermarkets across East Suffolk and Waveney.
Volunteers will be holding buckets at different locations to collect money for the hospice, with the hope to raise thousands of pounds.
Felicity Rook, head of fundraising at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “This month we are holding around 30 collections and bag packs as part of our Big Bucket-a-thon and we chose October to hold the Bucket-a-thon as we knew it would fall in and around Hospice Care Week.
“The Big Bucket-a-thon will be a great chance for us to connect with local people in the towns where we provide our care and will give us the opportunity to spread the word about hospice care, whilst raising vital funds so we can continue to improve life for people living with progressive illnesses in their neighbourhoods.”
You can support the Big Bucket-a-thon and connect with the hospice this Hospice Care Week by sparing a couple of hours to help with a collection, or having a collection bucket at your place of work or school. To see a full list of dates and venues of the collections visit www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk/bucketathon or if you would like to host your own collection in your office or classroom please call 01473 723600 or email fundraising@stelizabethhospice.org.uk
How can you connect with St Elizabeth Hospice during Hospice Care Week?
Fundraise for the hospice – why not hold a collection at your place of work or school as part of the Big Bucket-a-thon or hold an event such as a fun quiz night, or a yummy cake sale.
Donate – why not could donate some items to your nearest St Elizabeth Hospice shop. There are 25 shops across East Suffolk and Great Yarmouth and Waveney and any good quality items you no longer want or need will be gratefully received.
Take part in a hospice event – the hospice holds a variety of events throughout the year and the next is their festive fundraiser, the Christmas Day Dip – there’s no better way to begin your Christmas morning festivities!
Visit your local St Elizabeth Hospice shop. Check out the amazing goods they have for sale. You can pick up a bargain dress, a beautiful tea set, a stylish handbag, toys, games, DVDs, books and more – and there’s always a great selection cards and wrapping paper.
Volunteer your time – could you spare a few hours a week or month to help the hospice? You could volunteer in retail, as a ward helper, on reception, as a driver, support the administration teams – there’s bound to be a role suitable for you.
Spread the word – tell your friends, family, colleagues and neighbours about the work St Elizabeth Hospice does and how they can support the hospice.
Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter– help us reach more people with the power of social media by ‘liking’ and ‘sharing’ our Facebook posts and ‘favouriting’ and ‘retweeting’ our tweets.
To find out more about St Elizabeth Hospice or any of the above, visit www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk or call 01473 727776.