Wellbeing Services are GO!
Super Hospice Skydivers
New Charity Shop in Bromborough
Spring/Summer 2022
Inside this issue…
FROM THE HEART
r e m m this su
A warm welcome to our Spring/Summer 2022 newsletter, From the Heart, from everyone at Wirral Hospice St John’s. As lighter evenings are now with us, and those of you with green fingers are busy tweaking your gardens and other outside spaces, we’re all looking forward to returning to some kind of normal. In the last couple of years the summer months have offered some respite from COVID 19’s worst effects so we’ll be aiming to make the most of the coming months at Wirral Hospice St John’s.
Joanne Guerrero
A ‘warrior’ for the wellbeing of her patients and their families.
We do really like, whenever possible and if the weather allows, to encourage inpatients to spend a little time with their visitors sitting in, and taking in the fresh air from, our hospice garden.
Joanne Guerrero, our community services manager, puts wellbeing first for her patients and their families. She leads the clinical efforts in our Wellbeing Centre, Outpatients and Hospice at Home clinical services.
Since our last edition of From the Heart we’ve had another brilliantly supported Light up a Life commemoration, a successful festive Rudolph Run with 27 Wirral schools taking part, the annual Christmas tree collections and, of course, ongoing supporter events and individual kind donations, regular and one-off, that have also made a massive contribution to our specialist care and support services. We’re also outlining in these pages how people who have already left, or plan to leave, a gift in their Will to us will actually help to safeguard the hospice into the future.
Guerrero means ‘warrior’ in Spanish but if you ask any of her team what they think of her, they’ll all tell you how kind, caring and funny she is. Patients report that Joanne is helpful, supportive and empathetic to their illnesses and the challenges they face.
And, now we’re entering the season for summer events and occasions, you may be inspired by a strenuous or daring challenge, like the popular Skydive days or, if you take a more gentle, or genteel, approach, maybe the Wirral Coastal Walk or our popular, Care for a Cuppa baking campaign is for you?
Originally from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, where she trained at the Newcastle School of Nursing, Joanne easily relates to people from all backgrounds in an engaging and friendly way.
Read about some of the people who help to make the hospice what it is. Our brilliant staff, volunteers and our wonderful supporters, without whose hard work and commitment we simply wouldn’t exist.
From an early age, Joanne knew she wanted to be a nurse. She remembers being young when her dad, Dave, had an operation on his knee which resulted in plenty of bandages being around. Joanne would bandage up her ‘poorly’ dolls and from that moment her vocation was set.
Enjoy the summer months ahead, stay safe and once again, to every one of you who supports the hospice, in whatever way, please accept a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU!
Helen Helen Brown Chief Executive | Wirral Hospice St John’s
Contents 03 Community Services Manager – Joanne Guerrero
12 Care for a Cuppa
04 Wellbeing services
14 New Bromborough shop opens
05 Therapy professionals
15 New Bromborough shop opens
Joanne says: …Supporting people to live as well as they possibly can with their illnesses is such rewarding work. We aim to get people back in the driving seat, building up slowly. We can help people to cope with their symptoms, psychologically, socially, physically and emotionally.
13 Hospice Lottery
06 £50 Challenge – Hoist UK
16 Hospice Volunteer - Kath Kenyon
07 £50 Challenge – NJC and others
17 Join the Wirral Coastal Walk 2022
08 Super hospice skydivers
18 Sponsor a Nurse
09 Super hospice skydivers
19 It’ll soon be Christmas!
10 Make a Will Month – Legacy Legends
20 Happy Easter
The conversations which take place between patients in our Wellbeing Centre are often the most important for them and always inspiring for us. People open up, saying things they may not want to burden family with, and it gives them peace. I work with a team of great professionals and kind volunteers and I just love what we do here.
Joanne has worked in palliative care for nearly 20 years. She worked at St Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds for 12 years, where she started in a nursing role. Joanne was later promoted to Sister of the Day Hospice. Now, hospice care is embedded into Joanne’s life. Joanne is married with two adult children, who she’s travelled with extensively. They’ve lived in Peru and Australia, as well as various places in the north of the UK. She’s now settled into countryside life with her husband on the border of Wirral and Cheshire. Following a couple of years at our neighbouring hospice, Hospice of the Good Shepherd, we were delighted that Joanne came to work at Wirral Hospice St John’s to bring her wealth of experience and knowledge of hospice care to us. We know that it is greatly appreciated, Joanne, because that’s what our patients and their families tell us time after time.
11 Bank nurse – Anita Gillen
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Wellbeing services are Slowly but surely, community hospice services are back!
GO!
The Wellbeing Centre at Wirral Hospice St John’s would have, at one time, been referred to as day-care. A major feature of our care service is giving our patients a once-a-week meeting place. This is where, over eight weeks, they can access advice and support to live their lives as well as possible. Patients can be referred to us by their GPs, community health professionals or by a hospice consultant. At Wirral Hospice St John’s, we have a happy, relaxed atmosphere with a range of hospice professionals as well as trained and experienced volunteers. It was tougher during the pandemic. Mail outs, calls to home and checking in via other electronic means, where possible, was often as much as we were allowed to do. We missed our patients and we know they missed us. At times it was simply heart-breaking. Carefully, we’re welcoming people back so they can talk about what matters to them. We’re taking all the necessary precautions: regular testing, masks and hygiene measures.
We love hearing from patients, family members and carers who have attended the Wellbeing Centre. They have reported things like…
There’s a lot of sharing, we’re like our own little community.
We offer a combin ation of the following therapies and activities. They’re all tailored to personal needs and wishes. Relaxation Occupational ther apy Physiotherapy
Complex life-limiting illnesses affect people in so many ways. Patients may have similar diagnoses but no two people have exactly the same symptoms. Our expert therapists, encompassing physiotherapy and occupational therapy (part of our Patient and Family Support Services team), have the utmost skill in the simple art of listening! Their first task when meeting a patient is to hear how their particular illness may be affecting or restricting them. They strive to maximise independence through practical support and education, working with individuals and the people important to them. Some of the practical advice they teach has been recorded and in the current circumstances people can choose to view these sessions virtually, in their own homes. Working with our inpatients and the people attending our Wellbeing Centre, the therapy team will facilitate a combination of face to face, telephone and online therapy sessions.
Spiritual care Aromatherapy Creative therapies Chair-based exercis
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Baking Gardening Social and emotiona l support Nursing care Healthcare assistanc e Social care advice Counselling
They’re all very special people. It’s the best place I could possibly imagine. It’s so calming and relaxing.
Our therapy professionals are an integral part of our Patient and Family Support Services team
Physiotherapy
Occupational therapy
Therapy Assistant
Our physiotherapists enable people, as far as possible, to participate in the things they value the most. They help in the following ways:
Occupational Therapists promote health and wellbeing through everyday activities which add to our patients’ quality of life.
Our therapy assistant works with both the occupational therapist and physiotherapists, supporting them in all of the above services. They also carry out group and one to one relaxation sessions on the inpatient ward and in our Wellbeing Centre.
• Mobility issues to optimise independence or adapt to new levels of functioning. This may involve the assessment and provision of walking aids. • Advice for the management of pain. • Advice and education on the management of breathlessness. • Practical support for managing debilitating symptoms.
OTs can assess for and provide equipment to support independent living. They may visit patients’ home environments to discuss adaptations which may be necessary to accommodate new levels of mobility and function. They are also able to advise and support in the management of symptoms such as fatigue and anxiety. OTs can advise and support in the following ways: • Domestic tasks.
• Chair exercises.
• Equipment adaptations.
• Acupuncture / acupressure.
• Wheelchair provision.
• Personalised exercise programmes.
• Personal care.
No one judges you they’re just as helpful as can be.
• Falls prevention.
• Fatigue and anxiety management.
I love meeting the people who are in a similar position to my own.
Left to right: Tracy Therapy Assistant Helen Occupational Therapist Miriam Physiotherapist Elizabeth Physiotherapist and Therapy Lead
It gave him back his zest for life. People are so lovely, caring, understanding.
• Meal preparation.
Our qualified, experienced and empathetic therapy team, Elizabeth, our therapy lead, and Miriam are our physiotherapists, Helen is our occupational therapist (currently covering maternity leave for our full time OT, Katy) and all are wellsupported by therapy assistant, Tracy. They all work with our patients, assessing their potential and strive every single day to help them make every moment count.
I remembered who I am, having spent time with the hospice’s attentive and skilled staff, the lovely volunteers and my fellow patients with their own challenges too. Fun and laughter is a big part of the day, my family really enjoy the stories I share when I get home.
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Calling ALL businesses and community groups. Will you to take on our… The concept is simple: We give you a £50 start-up fund (yes, you read that correctly) and your team will have four months to turn it into, well, as much as possible! We don’t want to tell you what to do, except make lots of money for the hospice’s caring and support services, of course. The challenge runs from the 1st June 30th September 2022 and there may be many tried and tested ways to do it OR you may come up with a completely novel way to use the initial investment of £50 and turn it into much more? Once the figures are all in, you will all be invited to a fabulous THANK YOU ceremony with refreshments, acknowledgements and awards for the most creative fundraising idea, the bravest initiative and the most profit generated.
tions? What’s in it for organisa e team • An inspiring and creativ building experience your excellent • A showcase for all of entrepreneurial skills ative and fun • The delivery of innov y ways to raise mone rt for the vital • Your heartfelt suppo care of local people your business • Platforms to promote team nities with other • Networking opportu sinesses participating groups / bu with your • New ways to engage ily and rs, suppliers, custome fam friends Coronavirus halted the momentum of our first £50 Challenges, but some organisations managed to get their fundraisers off the ground organising wine tasting, quiz nights, fancy dress, tombolas, baby photo competitions and community lunches and read about Hoist UK’s Race Night on this page. Thank you so much to Marshall Moore recruitment specialists, BWM Chartered Accountants, Belvidere Community Centre and Hoist UK.
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Racing away to victory:
Belvidere Community Centre
Marshall Moore
What Hoist UK did to raise funds for their £50 Challenge You never quite know what’s right on your own doorstep!
We’re half expecting hospice corporate supporter, Neil Clayton, to invent a new challenge in the near future to raise funds for the hospice, Running Golf!
For instance, did you know that a national and, in fact, internationally renowned, organisation providing bespoke lifting equipment for large scale industrial and entertainment industry projects is based right here in Wirral? Well, Hoist UK, based at the Tarran Industrial Estate, is that very company. And, they’re a valued supporter of Wirral Hospice St John’s too. In the time (just) before the pandemic, the team at Hoist UK embraced the ‘get nifty with a fifty’ (pound note) campaign and organised a brilliant race night for colleagues, contacts, family and friends at Tranmere Rovers Football Club.
Hoist UK
Neil raises funds for the hospice for what as he views as a grateful thank you to the people here that cared for his sister, Elaine, who was with us in 2014 before, sadly, passing away.
In the run up to such nights, people sell sponsorship of the races and also numbers, race by race, can be bought and the buyer can name that particular horse. With about fifteen minutes between races a full night of entertainment brings people together.
Paul Jordan, hospice supporter and Director of Hoist UK, told us,
If your business or organisation would like to raise funds for the hospice in our £50 Challenge please contact our corporate and events team on 0151 343 0778 or, via email at events@wirralhospice.org
…The £50 Challenge gave us a great opportunity to inspire our team, plan a great night and raise some of those important funds to help Wirral Hospice St John’s keep providing their vital caring services for the people in our Wirral community. It certainly brought us all together. The guys at the hospice came and helped us on the night and they were so grateful when we presented the cheque, it felt like such an important achievement.
And, why not? He’s already completed the Mersey Tunnel 10K in 2015, the Port Sunlight 10K in 2017, as well as two golf days at Wirral Golf Club, one in 2019 and a second in 2021. So, are there any speed golfers out there? Seriously, Neil has also brought teams to our own hospice golf days and also, right at the start of the pandemic provided the hospice with some PPE that he had (almost before anyone else) as part of the equipment his team at NJC Thermal Covers use as part of their industrial pipe insulation business.
On a race night, pre-recorded races featuring eight horses are shown on a big screen. Any reel is selected at random (there’s usually eight different races screened) and then the commentary, which is changed so that only the horses numbers, 1 to 8, are called until there is a winner.
And, Hoist UK, through the fun pooled betting, raffles and people’s extra kind donations managed to raise a tremendous £3,100 for the hospice and a really great evening was had by all.
Neil finds many sporting ways to support Wirral Hospice St John’s
He’s never forgotten the love and support given to Elaine by the hospice team, as well as the empathy shown to him and his family too,
Belvidere Community Centre
The hospice is a wonderful place. We will always be grateful for everything they did for Elaine and I’m just happy to be able to do something personally and bring together, family, friends and business contacts who have become friends too, to raise what we can for those outstanding people. Through sponsorship and donations, Neil has helped raise well over £12,500 for the hospice and is planning more this year.
BWM Accountants
His next golf day, fortunately, for some, it’s NOT going to be Running Golf, is planned for Friday 15th July at Wirral Golf Club where he’s hoping to beat his 2021 total. The splendid prizes he always sources and the live entertainment should guarantee a great day and night for all.
If you’re thinking of taking part in, or organising your own event to raise funds for Wirral Hospice St John’s, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly corporate and events team by email at events@wirralhospice.org or give us a call on 0151 343 0778
As always our grateful thanks, Neil! wirralhospicestjohns
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Super hospice
The Wirral Hospice St John’s Skydive 19 had been able to view the earliest jump, just after 8am.
skydivers’ bravery
The airborne videographers, after filming their customers’ feats of courage, descended first and expertly landed on their feet – making it all look like a piece of cake. Then, descending from thousands of feet, we saw the professionals bring their human cargo in safely, “lift your feet up”, and, with a short slide across the wet grass on their backsides, they were safely on terra firma.
is something quite ferocious!
Soon, our first hero, Angela Yuen, was walking down the short track to the plane next to her professional skydiver. Everybody watched as the plane built up speed over the short (but bumpy, it has to be said) runway and then up, up and awaaayyyyy!!!
With due acknowledgement to Mary Poppins we’re glad that our sensational supporting skydivers have something more substantial than an umbrella to hang on to as they make their descent from 10-14,000 feet.
Ten minutes later, through the clouds, the parachutes appeared once more. As they each landed cheers went up. We knew which one was Angela because, like all of our heroes, she had her hospice t-shirt outside the three, four and even five layers they each had on to ward off the cold.
We’ve had a fair number of people jumping out of planes to raise funds for the hospice down the years and we thank them, one and all, for their thrill-seeking way of supporting us.
Following Angela, in teams of twos, threes and fours, off they all went for their turn… Mike Yuen, Angela’s brother, his wife, Harriet, and Brother in Law, Lex, Hannah and Kieran, Kate and Louise, Mark James’s fitness squad, including his sister Kim and their friends, Victoria, Hayley, Charlotte, Jo, Kate and Sue, and latterly, Holly, Jeff and Jane.
Who can forget, for instance, a 74 years young, Jim Johnson, defying that ‘age’ thing (if not gravity) to complete his parachute jump and, of course our own Inpatient nurse, ‘Sophie Skydive’ as she’s now affectionately known, and who featured in our previous From the Heart newsletter.
Everyone had a special reason, or was supporting somebody who did, for choosing the hospice for their fundraising.
Most recently (except for the intrepid people who ‘jumped’ while this newsletter was going to press) on a freezing cold day in October, nineteen people took the Skydive Challenge. This is their story…
As they all set off towards the plane their mums, dads and friends, who had experienced the specialist care and support of the hospice were firmly in their thoughts.
The wind-chill factor meant that the temperature was closer to 4C, rather than the 12C the thermometer was promising.
They all acclaimed, recalling their own loved ones, 'this one’s for you’. Our sensational skydivers were, and always are, ‘Hospice Heroes’, in every sense. Thank you brave people, you really are, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
That, however, didn’t stop nineteen of our intrepid hospice heroes from fulfilling their brave challenge to ‘tandem leap’ (attached to an experienced parachutist) out of an aeroplane from 14,000 feet.
Will you join our growing band of skydivers?
They’d gathered at the Black Knights Parachute Centre, near Hillam in Lancashire on a bright, but demonstrably cold, Saturday morning.
We have a new date ready on a much warmer day Saturday 6th August with the Skydive Tilstock Crew at the Skydive Tilstock Freefall Club, Tilstock Airfield, Whitchurch, Shropshire SY13 2HA.
Some were chattering away their nervousness, others were ‘in the zone’, supremely confident, while a couple were quiet with their own thoughts, all building up to the exhilarating challenge ahead. In truth, their family members, who had also turned up to support, were probably more nervous!.
For more details and how to get involved please visit wirralhospice.org/skydive or call Jamie-Leigh or Sarah on 0151 343 0778
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Bank nurse, Anita Gillen, is leaving us a gift many years from now
APRIL IS MAKE A
Will
The phrase, ‘you can take that to the bank’, is confirmation that a valuable item, or a piece of information, is safe and secure. You can rely on it!
MONTH
Anita is a Wirral Hospice ‘bank nurse’. She is available almost at the drop of a hat! She will cover holidays and when other nurses might be unwell. She is, by any definition, a dependable person.
When you receive this edition of From the Heart, Wirral Hospice St John’s will have embarked on our April Make a Will month. It’s an annual partnership with a number of Wirral’s solicitors who waive their normal Will-writing fees so that people can draw up a basic Will for themselves and/or their life partner. Making a Will gives people the peace of mind to know how their estate will be divided and ensures that loved ones are in their thoughts for when they’re no longer around. The solicitors don’t charge but we do ask for a suggested kind donation to the hospice at a significant discount, on average 50% off from the normal fees, at £90 for a single Will and £150 for a double. Many of the slots allocated will already be filled but you may still find one.
More details about Make a Will Month can be found at wirralhospice.org/ makeawillmonth
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LEGACY LEGENDS What we do in life, echoes in eternity Legacy donations to the hospice make a major contribution to our funds. There are three main types of legacy gift: a pecuniary gift is a fixed amount of money, a specific gift is a named item like jewellery, art, a car or suchlike and a residuary gift is the remainder, or percentage of, an estate once all gifts are given and any outstanding bills for your estate are paid. We know that, in the majority, people support their loved ones through leaving them a share of the assets they have built up over a lifetime. So, when people who have received hospice care, or their families and friends who have been touched by the care and support we’ve provided, choose to leave something in their Will for us it is always humbling and so gratefully received. On occasion we have been astonished with six figure legacies which have come to the hospice. But, no matter the amount, every penny or specific item of value left to us as a gift in a Will helps to guarantee our cherished hospice services now and into the future. Knowing we mean so much to people all around our Wirral community is a great responsibility and one we will never take for granted.
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Born and bred in Wirral, Anita qualified in Croydon, having moved down south in the mid 1980s and worked in and around Surrey, latterly as a community nurse, until 1997. After moving back to the Wirral she worked as a community nurse until becoming a Macmillan Lung Cancer Specialist Nurse in 2009. Advising people from early in a life-limiting diagnosis brought her closer to an even deeper appreciation of hospice care services, I always knew that the hospice would be a lovely place to nurse. To support people to live as well as they can for as long as they can is such a rewarding vocation. When I had the opportunity to join the hospice ‘bank’ after I came out of a full-time role it meant I could continue to nurse where I can still make a difference to real people’s lives. Anita has been doing hospice hours for more than five years now. She is such a hospice advocate that she has raised funds through various challenges including walking, running, cycling and swimming in the last few years and, she has been very open, that she, in total harmony with husband Paul and her daughters, is leaving the hospice something in her Will years from now. I know, first hand, the love and care that goes into what the people at the hospice do for our patients and their families. It is a wonderful place to work and I want the hospice to be delivering its special, lifeaffirming, services forever. We, Paul and I, are honoured to be leaving something to it in the future. And, now we know, we can take that to the bank! Thank you so much to Anita and her whole family, and all of our other Legacy Legends, for everything you do for us now and into the future!
www.wirralhospice.org
If you’d like more details about leaving us a gift in your will please visit wirralhospice.org/ giftinyourwill
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A chance to win and a way to care – Wirral Hospice’s weekly lottery On Friday 2nd Jan, 1998, the Spice Girls were topping the charts with their famous ballad, Too Much. It was the same day as Wirral Hospice St John’s ran our first lottery draw. The very first jackpot winner certainly didn’t think it was ‘too much’ and many more people since can only agree. Today our lottery has grown to around 13,500 members paying £1 every week to make a massive collective contribution to the essential specialist medical and nursing, care and support services we provide for the people of Wirral.
Here’s to a summer of family and friends get togethers with
Once the numbers have run each Friday, it is the responsibility of our lottery manager, Carl, to make sure the money is sent out to the lucky prize winners, he smiles: The best job of the week is calling up the first prize winner and letting them know that they’re about to receive £2,000. I’ve had tears and laughter from the winners, and I’ve also had the odd expletive from a couple of people who didn’t believe they’d won!
Care for a Cuppa We are delighted to bring back our Care for a Cuppa campaign this summer!
Top prize
£2,000!
Whatever the occasion, throughout those long summer days, why not invite your friends and family round for a cuppa and some cakes in the garden. Enjoy a morning coffee or a lovely afternoon tea with your nearest and dearest.
For pledging only £1 a week, each member is issued with a unique six figure number which is then entered into our random electronic draw every Friday. (People can, of course, have more than one membership and/or gift a membership to anyone, over 18 years, if they wish).
Maybe you could celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend, Thursday 2nd June - Sunday 5th June, with a Care for a Cuppa event and help raise vital funds for Wirral Hospice St John's. Is your street hosting a Street Party? How about hosting your own cake sale?
The top prize is very nice, and guaranteed at £2,000 every week, but often the second prize is even bigger. In fact the £500 second prize, can ‘rollover’ up to a maximum of £10,000! The explanation for this is that in our regular draws, the random number generator can stop on any one of 999,999 numbers for each prize (000000 to 999999). The machine keeps going until it finds an actual player’s number for the £2,000 and every other of the total of 34 prizes, except for the second prize.
The choice of how and when you arrange your Care for a Cuppa is entirely up to you! How about hosting your own cake sale? Once you have made your decision on when and where, simply tell us all about your event and we will send you a Care for a Cuppa pack, which is full of all the must-haves for your day. Every pound raised from these events helps to keep Wirral Hospice St John’s running across our inpatient ward, Wellbeing Centre, Hospice at Home, and outpatient clinics and services for our patients’ closest loved ones too.
Your free pack will include:
Care for a Cuppa host guide Recipes
Invites Cake flags Bunting Pens
Poster Hospice collection box
guaranteed each week
You can fill out a form online at wirralhospice.org/cuppa or email events@wirralhospice.org or, speak to our friendly events team on 0151 343 0778, to get your FREE Care for a Cuppa fundraising pack
If the number the lottery machine falls on for the second prize is NOT a player’s number, it rolls over by £500 a week. It can be won at any multiple of £500 as it rolls but, at 20 weeks, the machine is set so that the 2nd prize must be won. It is fantastic when anyone wins but it is especially gratifying when a long term member’s number comes up for one of the big prizes! Carl recalls the lady from Rock Ferry who had been a member of our lottery since day one and won the rollover at £10,000.
Rollover climbs up to
£10,000!
If you’d like one or a number of £1 a week memberships you can find more details of the Wirral Hospice St John’s weekly lottery at wirralhospice.org/lottery where you will also find our terms and conditions.
Carl remembers the call: That was particularly heart-warming. The lady was surprised, shocked and delighted at the same time. An absolutely wonderful call to make. Sounds like it wasn’t at all, too much!
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b braric-a c -
Allport Road is a busy thoroughfare of shops and places to eat and drink frequented by the good people of Bromborough, Eastham, Spital and many from further afield.
Wirral Hospice St John’s opens its latest charity shop in Bromborough Wirral Hospice St John’s recently opened its eighth Wirral charity shop at 148, Allport Road, in Bromborough.
SHOE S
The new shop is open six days a week, Monday to Saturday, and managed by, Suzie Stockell who, recently joined Wirral Hospice St John’s after a career in retail management, including ten years managing shops for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. She is ably assisted by a dedicated team of volunteers who give up their precious time every week to make a massive contribution by helping with various retailing duties, sorting stock, merchandising, window dressing and, all-important, friendly customer services.
Suzie, our new manager in Bromborough said,
Hospice nurse, Alice, joined new shop manager, Suzie, and a host of volunteers to welcome many people from the local community into the new shop. Sited between an office of Charles Stephens funeral directors and the Rokka Café and Steak House restaurant, the new shop is bright, clean and ideally placed to offer its wide range of quality goods, all kindly donated by the people of Wirral, to busy shoppers in South Wirral and further afield. Charity shops make a significant contribution to Wirral Hospice St John’s, providing much needed funds for our specialist support and nursing care for Wirral people with life-limiting illnesses, and their families. The latest shop in our hospice portfolio complements the seven existing locations at Birkenhead, Claughton, Heswall, Liscard, Moreton, New Brighton and West Kirby. Larger items of furniture, beds, sofas, 3 piece suites and the like, alongside clothes, accessories, books, jewellery and other bric-a-brac are in constant demand.
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Wirral Hospice St John’s is at the heart of our whole Wirral community and we’re really excited about delivering an excellent shopping experience in Bromborough. We’re so appreciative of everyone who donates their pre-loved goods and, of course, our dedicated volunteers who are all absolutely vital in helping us to raise those much-needed funds for our hospice’s specialist care and support. Everyone who comes here can be assured of a heartfelt welcome and our grateful thanks.
Please visit wirralhospice.org/charityshops if you would like to donate items to any of our shops, including clothing, jewellery, books, bric-a-brac or larger pre-loved goods like, sofas, 3-piece suites and other home and bedroom furniture. If you would like to volunteer in one of our shops please ask in any of them directly or visit wirralhospice.org/volunteering for all the latest vacancies
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These boots are made for walking May we suggest that, before Sunday 22nd May, you gaze down at those well-worn, but dependable, walking boots, picture yourself stomping around the Wirral coast, somewhere between the Floral Pavilion at New Brighton and the Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre at Thurstaston and start belting out some classic Nancy Sinatra? ‘These boots were made for walkin’ And that’s just what they’ll do,
The jam in the sandwich! Kath Kenyon, 38+ years a volunteer Kath Kenyon is a delightful lady. The perfect volunteer. Helpful, committed, thoughtful, kind and, she’s been helping at Wirral Hospice St John’s since day one, June 1983! She’s the middle child of five siblings and her old teacher said that that was a good thing because she was the ‘jam in the sandwich’. Lending a hand wherever, and whenever asked, she was most keen to return here after the early months of the pandemic meant we had to send all our volunteers home. To help our fundraising team she has regularly helped as a socially distanced receptionist, and taken on other responsibilities, in the space where our gift shop was previously (the gift shop is now closed for the foreseeable future). However she is also and has always been, throughout all those years, a ‘general duties’ Inpatient ward volunteer. This means that any help the kitchen team might request around teatime, and delivering our patients’ evening coffees, teas and biscuits, with a friendly smile. She started volunteering while she was still working as a medical laboratory scientific officer. The early part of her career was in a time when lab technicians would do the work of modern day
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Although, masks are mandatory on the ward right now, you can see the smile in Kath’s eyes! phlebotomists and take patients bloods themselves before taking them for analysis. This brought her into contact with patients and she was always keen to remember that the bloods she was analysing came from real people, with real lives, and that it was so important to get the analyses right. Down the years she’s had more chats with patients, and often with relatives and other visitors too, that can possibly be counted. Hearing their stories and exchanging interesting life stories is the motivation behind Kath’s ongoing devotion to our hospice. She’s a people person and wants to give most of the credit to other people. …We’re here to support the professionals and down the years I’ve been blessed with volunteer colleagues and friends that share the values we see being practised every day at the hospice. I must mention, (no surnames but you know who you are), Norma, Tina, Bill, Margaret, Cathy and Betty who I’ve had the pleasure to volunteer with for a great many, if not all of those years. Special people.
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over New……’ (Brighton). Yes, after a hiatus of two years, our Wirral community’s much loved and strongly supported Wirral Coastal Walk is back. Hooray! This year it’s 12.5 miles, starting at the Floral Pavilion, then meandering around the NorthWest coast of Wirral and finishing, as always in recent years, at Thurstaston. The fantastic Rotary Club of Norh Wirral, assisted by charitable organisations, other Rotary Clubs and "Friends of Rotary", have organised the walk since 1986. They encourage people to sign up to the walk for an entry fee of £5 per adult, if pre-registered online (or £6 on the day), and then you choose your own favourite charity to raise sponsorship monies for. Over the years, thousands of people have completed the walk and we’re so grateful to the sizable proportion of those that have chosen to support Wirral Hospice St John’s. Last time the walk was held, in 2019, it was a fair summer’s day (for the most part) and we’ve included a number of photos around this page of some of our supporters on the day. You can see from the smiles how much fun people have on the walk with friends and family and we’d encourage you to look down and say: …Are you ready boots?... Start walkin’…” Good luck everybody!
As you are too Kath. We know you’ve got more to tell and we’ll look forward to retelling it when you, and the hospice, reach a magnificent FORTY years of service in 2023! wirralhospicestjohns
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You can sign up for the Wirral Coastal Walk via wirralhospice.org/ wirral-coastal-walk and for Wirral Hospice sponsor forms, a hospice t-shirt to walk in and fundraising support, please contact our friendly events team on events@wirralhospice.org or call us on 0151 343 0778
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It’ll soon be Christmas It’s actually Easter-time so, many apologies for the headline, because obviously we’re still eight months away (only eight months), but we thought we’d give a quick snapshot, in pictures, of how our flagship commemorations for Light up a Life, our schools Rudolph Run and the Christmas tree collections went.
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Once again our wonderful Wirral community responded magnificently by sponsoring lights in memory of their loved ones and making what amounts to a massive financial contribution to the hospice. Thank you all so very much. Still a bit too early to confirm but we’re very hopeful that we will be able to hold the outdoor service, after a two year break, when we switch the lights on later this year. 2021 saw the 25th year of Light up a Life and we produced a poignant short video to mark the occasion.
Our regular giving appeal, ‘Sponsor a Nurse’, means you sponsor ALL of our nurses
In so many thoughtful ways our supporters, whether individual people, families, businesses or other community organisations, find all sorts of ways to make kind contributions to Wirral Hospice St John’s. One-off amounts, memorial gifts, funeral donations, our Light up a Life appeal, gifts in their wills, weekly lottery membership, donating to and buying from our charity shops and of course, events and challenges. However you choose to give, or find sponsorship, please know that you’re making a real difference to our specialist care and support services for people with life-limiting illnesses. One area of support for which we are eternally grateful is regular giving via our Sponsor a Nurse appeal, in which people can make regular monthly donations, and know they are supporting the work of ALL the wonderful nurses in our hospice. Our team of specialist nurses are there to support patients, and their families, at every challenging step of their journey. Most often with a friendly smile, a kind word, a chat, while caring for our patients and also,
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sometimes, to be there for them when they might be feeling lonely, afraid or in any pain. Whether applying their expert knowledge of pain management and symptom control, their empathetic help for patients and their family members in distress or, simply providing a hand to hold in the middle of the night, our nurses are there at all times to deliver care, love and support.
You can make a regular donation via Sponsor a Nurse from as little as £5 per month.
These regular gifts also enable you to make a difference in a way that fits in with your personal budget; you can increase, decrease or cancel your commitment at any time. You can find out more details and sign up to Sponsor a Nurse at www.wirralhospice.org/ What’s more, if you are a UK taxpayer, sponsoranurse or email your regular gift is eligible for Gift Aid, fundraising@wirralhospice.org which means your donation could be for any advice you may need to worth up to 25% extra to the hospice, at make a regular donation or if no additional cost to you. you prefer you can call us on We’re always delighted to hear from 0151 343 0778 for a you and, once again, THANK YOU friendly chat so much wirralhospicestjohns
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Rudolph Run Twenty seven of Wirral’s schools, including Hayfield specialist school, took part in the 2021 Rudolph Run involving hundreds of children in aid of the hospice. Hospice mascot, John Bear, had visited the schools to give the youngsters some warm-up tips for their runs and to drop off their red noses, antlers and sponsor packs. Many thanks, reinforced in special certificates sent to the schools, to all the pupils, their teachers, parents and other family and friends who facilitated the runs and sponsored which amounted to well over 0 into hospice funds.
£30,00
Christmas Tree Collection For a busy few days, from Friday 14th January, 2022, an army of vans and volunteers went buzzing all around Wirral to collect the real Christmas trees that people have made a kind donation for the hospice to recycle, After all the trees were taken to the drop sites all around Wirral they were chipped to be used for biofuel or for use on farms, or taken in whole to be used as coastal flood defences. We’re so grateful to everyone who donated so we could pick up their trees and also all those volunteers and local businesses who donated their valuable time, and some of the vans, to the effort.
See you in ear ly 2023 !
www.wirralhospice.org
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Caring for and supporting our patients and their families involves a team of dedicated staff including our nurses, our palliative care doctors, consultants, domestic and catering teams, social workers, spiritual coordinator, complementary, physio and occupational therapists, bereavement supporters and counsellors who are all supported by our back office support, maintenance teams and, of course, an army of volunteers. Life at the hospice goes on because the people in our Wirral community continue to value and support the work we do by making their kind and thoughtful donations.
We are eternally grateful!
How we raise our funds There are eight Wirral Hospice charity shops in our Wirral peninsula that rely on donations of quality pre-loved items and people continuing to buy the bargain items that we have on sale. Some of a higher value via our eBay Page: wirralhospice.org/shopping Join around 13,500 weekly members of our lottery for a chance to win the top prize of £2,000 every week or, if the second prize rolls for 20 weeks, maybe £10,000! wirralhospice.org/lottery We are so grateful to people who make a one-off or a regular gift to the hospice. There are a number of ways you can consider doing this by visiting wirralhospice.org/givingdonations and if you are considering leaving us a legacy donation, that page is at wirralhospice.org/giftinyourwill The summer opens up a number of fundraising ideas and opportunities so please have a browse at wirralhospice.org/eventsandcompanies for other ways to get involved and maybe raise some sponsorship. To speak with a member of our team please call the fundraising office on 0151 343 0778
A Happy Easter and Very Best Wishes for the summer months ahead from everybody at Wirral Hospice St John's
Wirral Hospice St John’s | Mount Road | Higher Bebington | Wirral | CH63 6JE 0151 334 2778 | info@wirralhospice.org wirralhospicestjohns
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wirralhospice.org Registered Charity No. 510643
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