Sara Lee Trust newsletter winter 2016

November 2016 The Sara Lee Trust

Newsletter

The Sara Lee Trust – an independent local charity providing complementary therapies, psychological and counselling support and therapeutic group activities to people in Hastings and Rother living through cancer and other life threatening illnesses, with support for their families and carers.

Sara Lee Therapy Centre – Crowdfunding Campaign!

Our vision of care for the future: Help us make this a reality by supporting our Crowdfunding Campaign: www.saraleetrust.org We are delighted to announce the purchase and proposed development of a freehold building in the heart of Sidley, Bexhill. The building will house the new Sara Lee Trust Therapy Centre and will enable us to provide easy access to our specialist counselling, complementary therapies and therapeutic group activities for people in Bexhill and its surrounds. The Trust is the only provider of these specialist services in the region.

There are areas in Bexhill where people’s lives are adversely affected by serious health inequalities, and the statistics are startling: l life expectancy is 10.4 years lower than regional averages l 55% higher deaths than expected for people aged 75 and over l cancer rates 65% higher than Hastings average l 45% higher mortality rates from cancer than regional average Sidley, Bexhill and its surrounds are some of the most deprived areas in the country where social, economic and transport barriers have long affected people’s abilities to access care. The Sara Lee Trust is committed to reducing these health inequalities and improving people’s lives across the area.

Grand Christmas Raffle

The Trust will be developing a purpose-designed Therapy Centre in the middle of Sidley High Street which we aim to open in the Summer of 2017.

The new Centre will be disability compliant and will provide a private counselling room, calm and welcoming therapy rooms and tranquil therapeutic gardens, as well as adequate parking.

Our Centre will become a community hub where we aim to increase awareness of our specialist services, increase the number of referrals from health professionals and ensure positive outcomes for patients.

We have purchased the building using restricted reserves and are looking to raise £15,000 from the local community to help with the costs of refurbishing and extending the existing building. To date, the Trust has been supported by local people and organisations including the Bexhill Hospital League of Friends who have pledged their support. There is more work to do to meet the totals needed but we would like to say thank to those who have already committed to the project.

Get Involved! Donate to our Crowdfunding Campaign by visiting www.saraleetrust.org and have your name added to the permanent supporters’ wall.

Win a luxury 1 night break, a fabulous 32” TV, a full car valet, champagne and so much more in our Grand Christmas Raffle – tickets enclosed.

See page 7 for more information.

Making a difference to people with life threatening illnesses

Welcome from Sally Lee, Founder and President

So just how can our services help?

Here’s what our patients say…

‘The Sara Lee Trust provided me with support at one of the most difficult and devastating times of my life…..to have a service that supports the family is invaluable. I believe it enabled me and my family to achieve and make the best of the situation’ ‘The Sara Lee Trust have travelled beside me every step of this challenging and scary journey’ ‘Having cancer can be an extremely disempowering experience, the charity has enabled me to feel more in control of my life and valued my individual experience of dealing with cancer’ ‘I felt like me and not a person with cancer’ ‘It has been the only appointment over the last year that has been for me and not an appointment where bad news is delivered’.

Make a donation: To support our work by making an online donation please visit, www.justgiving.com/sltf

Sally Lee, pictured here with daughter Sara

In May 1996 as we opened our first room at St Michael’s Hospice we would have been amazed at the expansion of the Trust. It has been a real privilege to watch it grow and support more and more patients.

What a wonderful way to celebrate our 20-year anniversary than to look to opening our new centre in Sidley. It gives me great joy that with the help of our therapists, staff and volunteers we have been supporting the communities of Hastings and Rother for many years and now with your help we can do the same for Sidley and Bexhill.

Please support our Crowdfunding Campaign, so that we can open this really beneficial centre in 2017.

In great appreciation of all who support us, Sally

To donate, visit our website www.saraleetrust.org.uk

Message from Linda Hodgson, Chair of Trustees Over the past four years much of my time as a Trustee has been working with our Trading Company. This has involved working with a wonderful team of staff and volunteers both in the shops and the Trust to open our now six shops.

Since the beginning of September I have been able to cut down significantly from my operational role and have had more time to reflect on the Trust and its work with patients and their families.

26 years ago as a Macmillan Nurse in our area I remember that the statistics for people getting cancer at some time in their lives was 1 in 3. It is now nearly 1 in 2 of us who will get cancer and according to Macmillan research, 1 in 5 people living with cancer feel alone and 38% experience severe stress, depression and anxiety.

Our mission is to help make a difference to the lives of people with cancer and other life threatening illnesses through our counselling support and complementary therapies.

The patients themselves have told us how much they gain from our services and have also told us what other services they would like to see provided.

I believe we now have firm foundations for the future and the challenge is to build on our services.

However, in order to grow and develop we need to have additional funding and more volunteer help.

Thank you to all staff, volunteers and supporters who have helped us in so many ways during what has been a challenging year. I look forward in particular to the opening of our Therapy Centre in Sidley. It will be a fantastic achievement and a much needed service to patients and their families at a difficult time in their lives.

Welcome from our Chief Executive Dan Redsull

Our care would not be possible without your support!

Welcome to our November 2016 Newsletter and thank you for your support for the Trust over the last year; it is truly appreciated. Next year, we will be introducing a new e-based newsletter which will be released three times a year. I hope you will find this development helpful in keeping you up to date with the Trust’s ongoing activities and events.

The last year has been an unusual one; where established Trust strategic and operational plans have had to drastically change as a result of external factors, most notably the tragic fire at St Michael’s Hospice.

Whilst the need to react to these changes has caused disruption and led to difficult working arrangements, the Trust team have responded in an admirable way and ultimately continued to work towards our overall objectives. Considerable progress has been made over the past twelve months which reflects the hard work of all those involved with the Trust.

Highlights include: • Increased counselling support and therapy care delivered year on year (13%), a 55% increase from 2013/14 • New services have been introduced to improve patient care and address unmet needs • Our services are increasingly patient led and now include evening and weekend care and support • The introduction of a new annual Service User Survey • Continued financial stability

Service User Group update: The Service User Group is currently a small group of friendly people and we would like to see new members joining the group. Helen Ilger, the Chair, explains how the group works: To be a member you need to have either used any of the services that the Sara Lee Trust provides or be a family member/carer of someone who has used the services. The group meets every two months for one and half hours.

In the past year we have been involved in, amongst other things;

The Service User Survey gave not only very positive feedback on the services provided by the Trust but also highlighted a number of important areas for improvement and development. These include the need to improve awareness of our services, enhance access and also develop the range of therapies we provide. The related actions will be included in our overall plans for 2017.

Looking forward, the relocation of our services and general operations back to St Michael’s Hospice will present its challenges but I am positive that the team and our wonderful volunteer supporters will continue to build upon the excellent achievements delivered in 2015/16.

With 2017 bringing the development of a dedicated Trust Therapy Centre in Sidley, Bexhill, we have the opportunity to make a tremendous difference to the lives of many who have previously been unable, or found it extremely difficult, to access our services. This important step in so many ways embodies the vision of Sara Lee and I thank you all for enabling this to happen; our care would simply not be possible without the incredible support we receive from everyone involved with the Trust.

The following feedback properly reflects the impact of your support:

‘The Sara Lee Trust has made a huge positive impact on my life at what is a very difficult time. The counselling and complementary therapies have really helped me clear my mind and stay positive throughout my treatment’.

I thank you, Danyll

• The development of the new Sidley Therapy Centre; • Designing the new annual Service User Survey; • Giving feedback to the Trust on our experiences of the services; • New ideas including plans for a Facebook support group page, run by the Service User Group.

Sometimes there are papers to read ahead of the meetings but this does not involve a large amount of time. Although we are often dealing with serious matters there is always a lot of laughter too, not to mention the tea and biscuits.

If you would like to come and join us please contact Kerry Evans, Lead Therapist, on either kerryeveans@saraleetrust.org or on 01424 456608

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Sara Lee Trust Services Introduction from Kerry Evans, Lead Therapist

“Without the support and connection with others the healing would be harder and The Sara Lee Trust’s charitable support has made it possible to access therapies to keep me on track with my journey.”

Kate Allison, Sara Lee Trust service user

Make a donation: To support our work by making an online donation please visit, www.justgiving.com/sltf

Over the last year, following the fire at St Michael’s Hospice, our team has faced significant challenges and, as we enter a new period of growth and development, there are more ahead.

What helps steer us through these difficult times and guide us in our decision making is the question ‘what is best for the people we support?’

When people are poorly and suffering they need us to be flexible, responsive and caring, and to be available at a time and place that suits them.

We know this because patients, families and carers tell us about their experience in all sorts of ways: by answering questions in our annual Service User Survey, by giving feedback at Service User Group meetings, and by telling us their personal stories, such as the following one from Kate Allison who has kindly agreed to share it with you.

“Cancer is often described as a journey, but as my Macmillan nurse said “with a journey we usually have some idea of the destination and an arrival time” so I like to think of it more as a mountain trek. The route isn’t always clear and there are many potential ways to go. The path is tough and steep. It is so easy to lose my footing. I quickly learn to keep myself as safe and in control as possible, wearing good footwear and not making risky moves, attending to my nutrition and keeping strong, sleeping when I can, because my nights can be plagued by the fear of wild and unknown beasts or held in wakefulness watching the beauty of the stars.

There are so many days when I reach a twist in the path and come across the most amazing view or suddenly I get a new perspective and my heart opens to the beauty of life in a way I have never experienced before. Most days, friends and families meet me on the path and make the journey bearable, even full of laughter and joy. And then there are days when I feel very alone, when a storm blows in unexpectedly or I begin to lose my footing on the shingle, and branches I cling to slip through my hands. I end up in a heap. It is then that I have to fortify myself and call long and strong for help. A strong arm pulling me forward, a push from behind moves me back on my track.

There are the milestones, but sometimes despite the rush of excitement of meeting them, of clambering to the top, there can be the terrible disappointment of thinking you had reached the highest summit and then being told, “No there are many more ridges to this mountain to climb before making the mountain peak”.

There are days when I just want to kick off my boots and revel in how far I have come or just eat chocolate and feel the grass between my toes, forgetting about my survival for just one day, but my trek is never far from my mind and my need to keep focused on my path is there 24 hours a day.

This is a trek I have only just begun, but for me there is always hope that one day our trek will become a journey with a destination of healing and a more definite arrival time. Without the support and connection with others the healing would be harder and The Sara Lee Trust’s charitable support has made it possible to access therapies to keep me on track with my journey and has often been the hand to hold me as I have felt myself dangerously near the edge.”

Kate Allison, June 2016, (diagnosed with secondary bowel cancer January 2016)

News from our partners: The Trust is the dedicated provider of psychological and counselling support and complementary therapies to patients of St Michael’s Hospice and the Hospital at Rye. Partnership working is important to the Trust and we have included an update from each organisation below.

Back home!

The clinical staff and in-patients of St Michael’s Hospice have now returned home to their beautiful, newly refurbished building on Upper Maze Hill, following the devastating fire in July last year. Everyone at the Hospice is so grateful for the support for the rebuild from the local community and further afield.

In August they were pleased to welcome over 200 supporters on guided tours of the in-patient areas, showcasing the new bedrooms and ensuites, and highlighting all the new features of the rebuild. It also

allowed visitors the chance to visit St Augustine’s Chapel and the beautiful Hospice gardens.

“It’s just lovely to be back at the Hospice, our home. There has been so much change over the last 15 months, and we are really looking forward to getting settled. We are already enjoying the new facilities. When I think of the changes to the first floor, wow, no ramps or steps, it’s going to make such a difference to our patients and the team.” Teresa Giles, Sister In-Patient Unit The Hospice is looking forward to welcoming back our friends and colleagues of the Sara Lee Trust into the building in the coming months.

“Having looked after people for my entire career as a midwife, it has been nice to come into the Hospice and to be the one being looked after. To come into the new Hospice and to use the beautiful facilities is very special” Vera, In-Patient

Snowflake Campaign The Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital Over the summer months The Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital has been taking part in a community hospitals research study led by The University of Birmingham. The study is looking at the patient experience and community value of community hospitals. We are one of nine case study hospitals involved in the study, each of which involve a series of interviews and focus groups with a range of hospital representatives, staff, patients, carers, volunteers and community members. The findings will be submitted nationally and a report will be widely disseminated to practitioners and policy makers across the NHS and beyond. Thank you to everyone who has taken part in this worthwhile study.

Instead of sending lots of Christmas cards this year why not write a snowflake and make a donation to the Trust?

You can have your own snowflake display (in your school or business) or simply download our Christmas message to share with your Facebook friends or via email, a simple and fun way to support the Trust this Christmas.

To take part, visit our charity shops or www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/sltf/snowflake For more details, email: nikkihawes@saraleetrust.org

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Volunteering with the Trust

FUNDRAISER FOCUS

We rely on voluntary support across all aspects of our work including retail, fundraising, administration and therapy services. This essential support allows us to provide a high quality service to our patients and we would like to extend our grateful thanks to all our volunteers.

Volunteers needed for our Shops and Donation Centre

If you are 15 or over, we would love to hear from you! We are very happy to work with students taking part in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme and can offer training in retail customer service, manual handling and health and safety.

For young volunteers or those seeking to re-enter the world of work after an absence, volunteering provides relevant workplace experience which can be added to a C.V. Maybe you would like to work in our Donation Centre – preparing stock for our shops, assisting with administration duties or helping our van driver with the daily duties of collecting and delivering donations to our customers’ homes.

To find out how you can volunteer in our shops or Donation Centre, please call 01424 272519, or pop into any of our charity shops.

Thank you! We are so grateful for all the fundraising carried out in the community on our behalf; it enables us to provide our specialist services to those living with cancer and other life threatening illnesses locally.

Special thanks to our Fundraising Group… (some of whom are pictured on the right) who organise a fabulous programme of events throughout the year to raise vital funds for our work.

Last year the group raised an incredible £2,665!

To find out how you can get involved, or if you would like to form your own group, please contact Maria on 01424 420264.

Stephen Parker recently raised £578 by taking part in the 100 miles Pru Cycle Challenge and has kindly agreed to share his reasons for supporting the Trust, as outlined on his JustGiving page.

‘I was fortunate enough to get a ballot position in the Prudential London Ride 100, which means I can ride the event without having to raise any sponsorship, a relief I thought as I hate asking for sponsorship for things I want to do anyway, despite the causes always being well deserved.

However, I recently met a 34 year old lady, a very fit and healthy young woman, who exercises daily, takes care of what she eats and drinks, and does all the right things.

In the last year, she, like so many other women, has had to face the unthinkable diagnosis of breast cancer; a shock at any age but more so at the

age of 34. She has undergone so many frightening and invasive investigations, diagnostics and treatments including a biopsy, weeks of vicious chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiotherapy.

She has to deal with the ongoing psychological and physical effects of the gruelling treatments she has undergone, and has a five year wait before she can finally begin to relax and truly start to plan for a future.

She is fortunate, in that she has had the support of her family and friends throughout all these gruelling treatments, the horrendous ups and downs of the last year....But what I never considered, is the psychological and emotional impact of all this diagnosis and all this treatment on her life and her outlook for her future.

She has undergone all the treatment but she is still scared for the future.

Everyday she lives with the worry that the cancer could return, every ache and pain is potentially the precursor of something sinister.

She has received services from the Sara Lee Trust which have helped her to cope with the reality of living with cancer on a daily basis. The Trust has offered her the opportunity of non-time limited counselling to help cope with the ongoing psychological and emotional stresses.

The Sara Lee Trust also offers the chance to escape daily stress through relaxation therapy and massage, so I am going to raise funds for the Trust by asking for sponsorship, no matter how small the donation, everything will help.

Many thanks Steve’

How you can support us

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Buy Tickets for our Christmas Draw.

Amazing prizes to be won!

With this newsletter, you will find two books of 5 raffle tickets. The tickets are £1 each. We really hope that you will be able to support us by buying some. Remember, you have to be in it to win it!

1st prize: One-night stay for two in a Junior Suite with breakfast, kindly donated by The George in Rye 2nd prize: Sharp Aquos 32” LED TV kindly donated by Survey Roofing 3rd prize: Full car valet kindly donated

by St Leonards Motors Group 4th prize: Crystal jewellery set kindly donated by Who’s Wearing What 5th prize: £50 voucher for Bella Vista Restaurant donated by Bella Vista Plus magnums of Mumm Champagne, tickets for the Jerwood Gallery and many more wonderful prizes To enter the draw, please buy the tickets – and encourage friends and family to buy them – return the completed slips with payment made payable to THE SARA LEE TRUST in the enclosed envelope (please add a stamp) or pop into one of our charity shops to pick up a ticket!

The draw will take place at our Christmas Fair on Sat 19 Nov – see events calendar for more details.

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Donate to our Charity Shops: You can deliver items to any of our shops, or to our Donation Centre which is easy to access and has free parking – so donating couldn’t be simpler!

The Sara Lee Trust Donation Centre, Unit 10, Beeching Park Industrial Estate, Wainwright Rd, Bexhill-on-Sea TN39 3UR email:donationcentre@saraleetrust.org Open Monday to Friday, 10am–1pm Or we can collect call 01424 272358.

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Take a Collecting Tin Do you run a business that would be happy to hold a Trust collecting tin? If so we would love to hear from you! We are keen to get as many Trust collecting tins out in to the community as possible to generate valuable income for the Trust and also help us improve awareness of what we do. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on where we can safely place tins and distribute Trust information please contact Shelley by email: shelleyhickman@saraleetrust.org

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Take up a challenge!

Guaranteed places available…

There are a number of exciting events that you can get involved in to challenge yourself and raise funds for the Trust such as the London and Brighton Marathons, and the Pru Ride London-Surrey 100 cycle ride for which we have a limited number of guaranteed annual places – see full details under the events calendar on the back page.

Huge thanks to: Louise Hunter and James Graham for running the Hastings Half Marathon and raising almost £700!

Joe Bates for running the Brighton Marathon and raising £761.

Dan Ellis for running the London Marathon and raising an incredible £3,258. Thanks also to Tim Hodgson, Dave Haggar and Mark Bunker who also ran and are still fundraising.

Tom Hopkins and Robert Davies (pictured left) and Stephen Parker (see story on page 6) all took part in the Pru 100 mile cycle ride and have raised to date just under £1,000 with more to follow.

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Become a Business Partner We are so grateful for the continued support we receive from the business community, and in particular, from our ‘Corporate Partners’ who make a regular commitment to the Trust.

Their valuable support enables us not only to increase the essential care and support we provide locally but also: • Improve access to our care by raising awareness of our services; • Help the Trust reach out in to the community by establishing new links and relationships; • Support the Trust in its ability to deliver its longer terms aims which include: – increasing our therapy capacity to meet growing local need, – improving access to our care by providing services in the evening and at weekends, – developing our portfolio of therapy services to improve choice and our ability to meet patients individual needs, – supporting measures to address local health inequalities including the development of a Therapy Centre in Sidley, Bexhill, – developing a volunteer qualified service to work alongside our existing therapy team.

Our thanks go to: (listed in alphabetical order) Alleyne Davis Carpentry & Construction Ltd Astbury Windows Doors & Conservatories Ltd Bentley & Hall CGNMB PCM Estate Agents PumpHouse Designs Redman & Howard St Leonards Motors Group The George in Rye Who’s Wearing What boutique 247 247 Transport Solutions To find out how your business can support the Trust – please email mariagonet@saraleetrust.org or call 01424 420 264

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Event Planner ‘Friends in Song’ concert, Sat 5 Nov In aid of The Sara Lee Trust 11.00am in the Art Gallery of Hastings Museum, John’s Place, Bohemia Road TN34 1ET Organised by Friends Unlimited Tickets (on the door) £8, includes tea/coffee and home-made cake Snowflake Campaign launches, Mon 14 Nov To take part visit our charity shops or visit www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/sltf/ snowflake For more details, email nikkihawes@saraleetrust.org Christmas Fair, Sat 19 Nov at St John’s Church, Pevensey Road, St Leonards on Sea TN38 0RD, 10.00am–1.30pm Great shopping, fundraising stalls, delicious refreshments – fun for all the family. Please come along to support us.

Grand Christmas Raffle will be drawn at 1.30pm Coffee Morning in aid of the Trust, Fri 27 Jan 2017 10.30am-12.30pm Beaufort Court, Beaufort Road, St Leonards on Sea TN37 6PQ Quiz and Curry, Thu 16 Mar 2017 The Chilli Tree Restaurant, 1 King Offa Way, Bexhill, TN40 2UA A Sara Lee Trust Fundraising Group Event 7.00 for 7.15pm.

Tickets £15 includes a welcome drink and delicious buffet meal (teams of 4 to 6).

Afternoon Tea with a Crafty Twist, Sat 22 Apr 2017 St Martha’s Church Hall, Cooden Sea Road, Little Common TN39 4SL 2.00-4.00pm, Flower arranging demonstration at 3pm A Sara Lee Trust Fundraising Group Event

Sign for one of our exciting challenge events – guaranteed places available up RUN FOR THE TRUST Hastings Half Marathon, 19 March 2017 Planning to run the Hastings Half? Please consider running and raising funds for the Trust. To book your place visit www. hastings-half.co.uk Brighton Marathon, 9 April 2017 With a stunning backdrop of the sea, the Brighton Marathon finishes on the seafront with 150,000 spectators and an unbeatable atmosphere. Apply for a guaranteed place with The Sara Lee Trust for runners who can commit to raising £500.

London Marathon, 23 April 2017 Take part in this iconic event with a guaranteed place with The Sara Lee Trust, for runners who can commit to raising £1,750.

CYCLE FOR THE TRUST Pru Ride London-Surrey 100 Cycle 30th July 2017 Starts in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, then follows a 100-mile route on closed roads through the capital and into Surrey’s stunning countryside. With leg-testing climbs and a route made famous by the world’s best cyclists at the London 2012 Olympics, it’s a truly spectacular event for all involved.

Apply for a Golden Bond Place via The Sara Lee Trust. All we ask is that you commit to raising £400, can complete the cycle within 9 hours and are able to ride safely within a large group of cyclists.

FOR OUR CHALLENGE EVENTS WE CAN SUPPORT YOU WITH ONLINE FUNDRAISING, CREATE PERSONALISED SPONSORSHIP FORMS AND PROVIDE A SARA LEE TRUST T-SHIRT OR VEST

For more information on any of our events, call 01424 420264 or email mariagonet@saraleetrust.org or visit our website at www.saraleetrust.org The Sara Lee Trust temporary office addresses: Services and administration: The Sara Lee Trust 1 Sedlescombe Road North St Leonards-on-Sea TN37 7DA

Tel: 01424 272519

Registered Charity No: 1055048

Fundraising: The Sara Lee Trust Jackson Hall Portland Place Hastings TN34 1QN Tel: 01424 420264

Make a donation:

To support our work by making an online donation please visit, www.justgiving.com/sltf