News

 

Mothers Day Remembrance

5pm Sunday 14th March 2010 at St Clare

 

St Clare Hospice warmly invites you to our Mothers Day remembrance event. This will be an opportunity for families to celebrate the memory of their mums and the very special role they have played in our lives.

 

We will have uplifting music, poems, artwork provided by local primary school children, and singing from our very own Alison Campaniello, with Steve Gentle on piano. This event will be held on Sunday 14th March 2010 at 5pm at St Clare Hospice.

 

If you would like to come, please call our administrator on 01279 773768.

 

Scarlet Auction

Theydon Bois village hall was the setting for the first ever Scarlet Auction last Friday 12th February. The event hosted by Steve Midgley, Sue Sowerby and Christine Baker was a huge success and raised a magnificent £37,500 for the Hospice. 140 guests filled the hall and were served a sumptuous meal by Magpie Catering; after the meal the business of the Auction took place, the auctioneer Phillip Gee brought his hammer down on lots ranging from £45.00 to £3,750.00.  

 

The auction has definitely put the hospice on the Theydon Bois awareness radar with local companies coming forward to help us with fundraising.  Our thanks go to Steve, Sue and Christine for their hard work and enterprise that made the event such a success.

 

More photographs of the auction may be found on our 'Photobox' site.

20th Year Of St Clare Hospice Launched!

St Clare Hospice is celebrating its 20th year of providing care to local people with events, road shows and lots of other fun ways to join in!

 

The anniversary year was launched with a team from the Hospice touring the whole area covered by St Clare which includes West Essex and the border of East Hertfordshire. The team visited 8 towns in two days handing out birthday cup cakes as they went. “It’s a small way of acknowledging and thanking our supporters in each town. Without these special people we simply wouldn’t be able to exist. said Giles Wright,  Communications Manager.

 

Mayor of Bishop’s Stortford, Councillor Colin Woodward joined in the fun; first meeting the touring team at their new bookshop before handing out cakes and leaflets to local traders.

 

“Mr Woodward is a great ambassador for the Hospice and we are very grateful that he was able to spend time with us and get this exciting year off to a flying start!” said Giles.

 

Sainsbury’s stores in both Ongar and Debden joined in the fun as St Clare has been chosen by customers as the stores’ charity of the year.

 

Visit our Microsite by clicking here or call (01279) 773 750 to find our how you can get involved and help make this year a special one!

 

“St Clare is one of our most popular local charities” comments MP.
Eleanor Laing MP visits St Clare Hospice

On Friday (29th Jan) Eleanor Laing MP for the Epping Forest District visited St Clare Hospice to hear about the organisations future plans and current challenges in delivering care to local people with life limiting illnesses.

"I very much enjoyed visiting St Clare.  I have not been there for a few years and I am most impressed to see that the facilities have improved yet again. The Hospice is an important part of our local community, providing not just the obvious services for its in-patients but also a wide range of counseling and therapy sessions for out-patients and for families. The atmosphere is great.  It is full of supportive and understanding people and leaves you with a lovely sense of calm.” commented Mrs. Laing MP

 

“The Hospice is a charitable organisation which exists as a result of generous support from the local community it serves” said Chairman Michael Chapman. He went on to say: “We are delighted to have Mrs Laing MP visit us and she has shown great empathy for the special work we deliver here. The Hospice was founded 20 years ago by the local community and funded by the local community. We are very grateful for their support that we have received from all our local MP’s in that time”

 

Mrs Laing MP met Day Therapy patients including Beryl Chappell a patient from Epping and spent time talking about Mrs Chappell’s experience of the Hospice. Tanya Curry, Director of Patient Care said: “So many people that could benefit from our Day Therapy service are too afraid to contact us or come and see what we do here. Mrs Laing MP by meeting the patient’s in our Day Therapy unit realised what a huge benefit the patients’ and their families receive by coming to St Clare.

 

At the end of the visit Eleanor and the Hospice’s Directors marked the 20th Birthday year for St Clare with cake before Mrs Laing MP spent time in the reception shop: “I am delighted to celebrate the Hospice's twentieth anniversary. So much good work has been done here over these twenty years and so many, many people have been helped. St Clare is one of our most popular local charities.  It deserves lots of support and I look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength."

 

Hundreds support Hospice Winter Walk!

2010 sees St Clare Hospice celebrate providing 20 years of care to the local community and the first event in our 2010 calendar was the annual 5km Winter Walk. Despite the weather throughout January being very miserable, hundreds of walkers (and quite a few dogs!) turned up at the Hospice in Hastingwood to take part. As a reward for taking part, everyone was greeted with warm soup and rolls on their return…even the dogs got a treat, kindly donated by Eastwick Lodge! The fields were muddy and it was still rather cold, but great fun was had by all and over £4,300 has so far been raised for the charity.

Ongar Light up a Life supported by local Sainsbury’s

Last year the generous response from our community towards the St Clare Hospice ‘Light up a Life ceremonies’ across West Essex raised over £20,000.  A truly magnificent sum, almost enough to cover the cost of running its In Patient Unit for a whole week.

 

The Ongar ‘Light up a Life ceremony’ is kindly organised by Ongar Friend’s of St Clare Hospice and this year Sainsbury’s in Ongar kindly donated £250 towards the focal point of the ceremony, the Christmas tree. The ceremony which took place on Thursday 3rd December was held at St Martins Church in the town.

 

Sainsbury’s Ongar selected St Clare Hospice as their ‘Charity of the Year’ and have been busy organising lots of activities in aid of the local care facility.

“We are so grateful to Sainsbury’s Ongar and we are delighted to be their Charity of the Year, benefiting from their enthusiasm and fundraising efforts. Their support with our tree helped to make the ‘Light up a Life’ evening all the more special. So many value the opportunity to come together and share a quiet time of remembrance and reflection and see their dedicated tree lights illuminated.” Giles Wright, Communications Manager at St Clare Hospice.

 

Santa Run 2009

Thank you to everyone who took part in the first ever St Clare Hospice Santa Run on Sunday 6th December 2009 in Harlow Town Park!

Over 200 Santa’s registered to take part in our 4km route and what a sight it was seeing so many Santa’s in one place!

People of all ages and abilities took part – one runner completed the course in around 12 minutes whilst our last walker crossed the finish line in 52 minutes. We had babies in buggies, dogs in Santa suits and even the reindeers from Pets Corner made a special appearance! You can see all of our photos at our Photobox site.

 

If you have raised sponsor money whilst taking part in the event, please send cheques payable to St Clare Hospice to Santa Run, St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 9JX with your sponsor form. Everyone who raises £60 and over will receive a prize!
Thank you to Harlow town council, AliStage, Lemon Tree Restaurant, Go Express, Ten17 and the Harlow Star newspaper for supporting the event. 

 

All about you day - Patients get pampered  

 

 

Day Therapy patients gathered at St Clare Hospice on Monday the 30th November for a special day of pampering, feel good and relaxation. Alanah Anscombe and Hayley Quinlin, staff from the local Hair and Beauty Specialists Avant Garde were on hand, working alongside the Hospice team providing complementary therapies including massage as well as hair styling and beauty treatments.

 

Beth Burton, Day Therapy Manager at St Clare Hospice commented: “Patients came with a friend or a family member for a day to relax and enjoy spending some quality time together, whilst being pampered for a while. Avant Garde beauty salon gave up their time to support our patients, and we are truly thankful to them for helping to make the day so special for the patients.”

 

Anyone with a life limiting illnesses (over 18) can be referred to St Clare Hospice Day Therapy service, a place where patients come for one day a week for physical, emotional and social support. The service is completely free for each patient and their family. Referrals can be made via a GP or you can contact us direct on (01279) 773 768 – Mon – Fri 9-3pm to find out more.

 

Beth and Zoom in Arts on BBC Essex

 

Beth Burton, Day Therapy and Creative Team Living Manager was live on BBC Essex radio (Friday 4 Dec 09) with Sarah and Raya from creative therapy company Zoom in Arts. Invited in to talk to Christine Penhall, BBC Essex Helpline, Beth, Sarah and Raya spoke brilliantly about the benefit patients had received from working with the Day Therapy team and Zoom in Arts exploring and re-telling their lives through creative projects. St Clare and Zoom in Arts have completed two workshop events with Day Therapy patients and are now planning the next.

 

Beth spoke about the fears patients have about coming to a Hospice and how so many think that this is the end. Often too patients become their illness and it takes over, commented Beth. With coming to Day Therapy and particularly taking part in projects such as this, patients can become them again and share complex thoughts and feelings with family and others, which is hugely satisfying for everyone involved.

 

First Christmas Fayre for St Clare in Clavering

St Clare Hospice hosted the first Christmas Fayre in Clavering in aid of the local charity which provides care for the people of Uttlesford, living with life limiting illnesses. Despite the awful weather organisers were delighted with the event.  Marina Lawrence, a local resident of Clavering, has dedicated years of her life fundraising for St Clare Hospice and provided much of the volunteer help at the Fayre. Caroline Bore, Community Fundraiser for St Clare organised the event with many stalls including handmade jewellery and cosmetics by Bluebell and glass painted goods from Agnoli as well as a raffle, a bottle stall and cakes with a Name the Clown game and Guess What Teddy was Wanting for Christmas game!  Santa Claus even made an appearance with gifts for the Children.

 

Caroline commented: “The weather was absolutely awful with gale force winds and tremendously heavy downpours which made it difficult for people to travel.  However, £568.00 was raised at the Fayre and those who attended commented on how lovely the hall looked”

 

Manor of Groves Golf Club raises over £3,500 for local Hospice

 

Members of the Manor of Groves Golf Club and friends watched as Hilda Watt presented a cheque for £3534.60 to Caroline Bore of St Clare Hospice in the clubhouse this week. The money was raised at the members’ Grovers Day, in memory of Hilda’s husband and former Club Captain, Dick Watt who died at the Hospice following a valiant fight against cancer. Dick was a proud Scot who was loved and respected by all who knew him. The fundraising day was a response to Hilda’s wish to recognise the dedication of the staff at St Clare Hospice and to thank them for the service they provide to the local community.

The money was raised by a combination of sponsorship, donations, a Scottish raffle and a successful auction, in addition to numerous fines and forfeits imposed at the Grovers Dinner. The dinner was supported by 130 members and guests, with a Scottish menu provided by the management and music provided by popular local singer Lol Williams.

 

Local Lady Wins Hospice Lottery!

Local lady Catherine Thomas who lives in North Weald is celebrating after winning £1,000 on the St Clare Hospice Lottery only weeks after signing up.

“I was utterly shocked to find a cheque to the value of £1,000 posted through my letterbox. I cannot believe it, I’ve never won anything in my life before.” said Catherine.

St Clare earlier in the year reported a dramatic fall in people playing the weekly draw which only costs £1 per entry and so decided to invest in door to door canvassers in an attempt to save this important fundraising activity. Mrs Thomas who signed up when a canvasser knocked on her door says the lottery win has made all the difference to her and her family, a dream come true.

“My niece lives in Australia and is getting married early next year. We were worried about committing ourselves to accepting the invitation as it is going to be an expensive trip. We have called Australia and confirmed that we will be attending…all due to this fantastic win…”

You can sign up to play the St Clare Hospice lottery by downloading a lottery form by clicking here or by calling (01279) 773 750

 

Witches And Monsters Raise Cash For The Hospice!

On Saturday 31st October witches, devils, vampires and monsters gathered in Stansted to take part in a charity walk to raise money for the Hospice. Spangles Children’s Centre on Lower Street hosted the event and turned their hall into a spooky setting for games, arts and crafts and lots of Hallowe’en cakes. Supporters then went for a short walk round the countryside. Over £700 has been raised from the Walk. A big thank you to everyone who took part and to Spangles for hosting the event.

 

New Chapter For Hospice Director

John Zeppetella the Medical Director at St Clare Hospice has written history by agreeing to add a chapter to the critically acclaimed ‘The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine’. The textbook is used across the world by the wide range of health care professionals involved in the care of patients with a terminal illness, or chronic, progressive conditions.

 

“I was delighted to be asked to contribute to the fourth edition of the hugely successful Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine. Following publication of the first edition in 1993, the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine had rapidly established itself as the definitive textbook on the subject. To write and share experiences gained from working with patients in our hospice has indeed been a privilege.”

 

Anthem Charity Night

The Marne Inn in Thorley Park Centre, Bishop’s Stortford is holding an ‘ANTHEM Charity Night’ on Saturday 21st November 2009 at 8.30pm in aid of St Clare Hospice. The popular band ANTHEM will be playing their renditions of many popular classic and modern rock and roll anthems. Their previous landlady, Sue O’Conner sadly passed away two years ago and was helped by St Clare Hospice. There are 200 tickets available and cost just £5 each. They’re expected to sell fast, so buy one whilst you can!

 

Trainers Are Back On For Local GP
After an injury which prevented him running the London Marathon in April 2009, local Doctor, Philip Lancaster has put his running trainers back on and is hoping to raise lots of money for St Clare Hospice by taking part in the Dublin Marathon next Monday. 12,000 runners are due to take part in the 26.2 mile run.
Dr Lancaster said: “For the fourth year running I am raising much needed funds for our local Hospice, St Clare in Hastingwood. I cannot praise their work enough. The scope of their work is immense, the depth boundless, the kindness love and support without measure. They are always there at the most difficult time in people's lives.
As long as I am able I will try to raise funds for them as this is the most deserving charity I know.

 

You can sponsor Philip online at www.justgiving.com/Philip-Lancaster0

Epping Show Their Support

Ben Murphy, the Town Mayor of Epping has kindly donated an amazing £2,775 raised by his Charitable Appeal Fund, to St Clare Hospice to help care for hundreds of local people.

The funds have been used to purchase 6 new flat screen, wall mounted televisions, which have been installed in the patient’s rooms.