The Primrose Bulletin - Issue 5 Spring/Summer 23

We hope you agree Primrose Hospice and Family Support Centre is a unique place and that is simply down to our Primrose People. From our cook to our counsellors and everyone in between every single person plays an essential role in making Primrose Hospice a vita support system for our community.

I have been part of Primrose Hospice’ since 2016 and their chairman since 2 y y have been supported by Primrose for many years and I can say honestly that it is a privilege to volunteer and work alongside the special angels at Primrose Hospice.

The good we do for our community can be found in the people that do it, in their skills, their experience and their compassion. What we do simply would not happen without them. In this edition of the Primrose Bulletin we are excited to launch our new campaign, Primrose People, in which we showcase some of those incredible people and hear in their words just what Primrose means to them.

In this edition you will meet Jo, who has worked at Primrose for nine years as our Volunteers' Manager, and learn about the crucial support our volunteers provide all year round. Throughout the year look out for more opportunities to get to know more of the wonderful people that make a difference in our community

Keep reading on for exciting fundraising events and a mouth watering Easter recipe for you to try later in the bulletin!

We provide all our services for free in North East Worcestershire to those who need us most; we can only continue to do this with your dedicated and valued support. Every pound raised really does make a difference to ensure Primrose Hospice and Family Support Centre can continue supporting our community

Thank you to all our trustees, volunteers, supporters and staff for their valued support and commitment.

Rod Laight Chairman,BoardofTrustees PrimroseHospice&FamilySupportCentre

How we care

Data extracted from January 2022December 2022

The total number of individual people who received our care or support

1,300

The total number of new clinical and wellbeing patients who benefitted from our care

205

Get a glimpse into Primrose Hospice

Join us at our upcoming Open Afternoon!

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to see the vital support

Primrose Hospice & Family Support Centre offers to our community and how we can support more people through a joined-up approach with our local healthcare system.

Where?

Primrose Day Hospice, B60 3BW

When?

Tuesday 13th June 2023, 10am-6pm (Drop in)

£20 Retail Challenge

How much do you spend on clothes every month?

We know that with the cost of living rising people are watching their pennies That’s where we come in!

Did you know on average every person in the UK spends £43.88 on clothes every month*? We want to show you, just how much you can get for your money by picking up bargains across our six shops

We challenged Sarah – Our Marketing and Communications Officer to visit our Bromsgrove Shop with £20 in her pocket and look at what she came away with

Visit our shops:

Bromsgrove: 125 High Street, B61 8AE

Kingfisher: Unit 13ai, Kingfisher Shopping Centre, B97 4EY

Redditch: Alcester Street, B98 8AE

Rubery: 155 New Road, B45 9JW

Droitwich: 22 St Andrews Street, WR9 8HE

Headless Cross Furniture Shop & Donation Centre:189 Evesham Road, B97 5EN

-

Vintage! Jeans -

Shoes-£

EvenabonusJigsaw

We always welcome donations of good quality pre-loved clothing, shoes, household items and entertainment, so why not pop down to your local shop with your donations? Shopping and donating in our charity shops not only helps you save money, but also helps to reduce your carbon footprint too! Read more about our shops here: www. primrosehospice.org/ support-us/shops/our-shops/ *www.nimblefins.co.uk/heres-how-much-you-should-spend-clothing-each-month

Jacket

£8

£7 Debenhams

Primrose People

“Whenever I go to Primrose Hospice the first thing I see is people smiling, people happy, people having fun, people making a difference. They’re extraordinary people in an extraordinary place.”

At Primrose Hospice we provide care and support to 1,300 people in North East Worcestershire every single year This simply wouldn’t be possible without our ‘Primrose People’

From every volunteer, patient, staff member and fundraiser, everyone plays a vital part in ensuring Primrose Hospice & Family Support Centre can continue to provide the free and vital support to our community in their time of need

Over the coming months we are going to introduce you to just some of our Primrose People who make all this possible. So you can get to know us and learn about our support services.

Over to Jo…

Hello…I’m Jo, the Volunteers' Manager at Primrose Hospice & Family Support Centre. I look after, recruit and celebrate our wonderful volunteers I’ve never worked anywhere where I feel happy coming to work every single day Primrose Hospice truly is a special place

We have over 400 volunteers who support us day in day out to deliver our essential services to the community

Although I’ve been working in this job for nine years, it never ceases to amaze me just what people volunteer for. They are amazing!

Our volunteers support us with everything from being the face of our retail shops to delivering counselling sessions for people who may be facing the hardest time in their life. I love my job because I get to celebrate our volunteers for their incredible support and because, without volunteers, we simply wouldn’t be here.

Primrose is an integral part of the community. If the hospice wasn't here, where would people go for the support? Not only the nursing support, but the family support, the children's support and our bereavement groups.

Our volunteers provide us with over hours of support every month, which saves the hospice over every year. This means we are able to help more people access support in their hour of need.

Primrose People

I get involved with lots of different things here at Primrose, including our GALS Group. This is a social and support group for women who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness They are the most positive, most exhilarating bunch of ladies They come here to socialise and have fun, but they also come here to support each other –sometimes without realising it.

Someone might come in and they might look a bit down but there's always someone in the group who will take them under their wing, and a lot of the time can share their own similar experiences.

It's about helping that person get through their particular stage. It might be in their treatment or they might have had something happen in the family or just not feeling it that day; often by the time they leave they have smiles on their faces and the laughter you hear is infectious

The GALS Group meets on the last Friday of the month and as I have the pleasure of facilitating the group, I really look forward to those Fridays

Someone once said: "Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help."

It doesn't matter whether you can spare 1 hour every week or 1 day every year. We need more people like you to spread kindness and support the vital work we do.

We have a huge variety of volunteer opportunities that can fit in with your lifestyle and can benefit not only your career but your personal life too!

"I feel it is such a privilege to volunteer at Primrose Hospice. I have been welcomed, received support and made to feel part of a caring team."Complementary Therapy Volunteer

Volunteer Roles:

Shop volunteers

Counsellors

Complementary therapists

Volunteering at fundraising events

Receptionists

Gardeners

Drivers (bringing patients and clients and many more... to the hospice)

JowiththeGALSoup

Photo credit: www juliekingphotography co uk

What is Wellbeing?

Your wellbeing is important for everyone at any stage of life. When a patient in our community visits Primrose Hospice for the first time we assess their needs and ask them what would be beneficial for them

One of the vital support services we offer are our wellbeing sessions. These sessions can consist of everything from yoga & tai chi to hair & beauty treatments. Patients can share time together, forming new friendships and learning new skills

Tammy Humphries joined us in January as our new Wellbeing Co-ordinator and has hit the ground running since! Find out a bit more about her below…

Hi! I'm Tammy, I previously worked at a care home organising activities and outings for the residents as well as fundraising events.

I’m passionate about improving the understanding around wellbeing and how it can have a positive effect on someone’s life. Our sessions work to improve our patients' confidence, comfort, health and happiness It could be by having a sense of purpose, managing their symptoms, setting goals and working towards achieving them.

Wellbeing helps to & create strong so networks, find pea and maintain a h quality of life. The all things that can us in our daily task help us to underst ourselves better.

At the moment we offer a variety of wellbeing sessions including; therapeutic singing, crafts, art therapy, yoga, tai chi, MEN’s & GALS groups We have plans to extend these sessions to include things like historical talks, technology demonstrations and different exercise classes. We would also like to take our patients out for visits to local attractions and community hubs which will help them to further build relationships with other patients ”

This is what therapeu singing group leade Ruth says when encouraging patien to come along! Our new singing group, welcomes patients nd carers to come ogether to sing familiar and new songs

The impact this session has on people who are suffering ith mild dementia is breath-taking. They enter the ospice finding it difficult to speak in a sentence but sing ong knowing all the words to the songs."

awn White - Head of Clinical and Wellbeing Services

£1.95m

£39 Could pay for an initial nursing assessment

Is how much it costs each year to fund our services, with only 14% being received via statutory routes

"Can you make a noise?"

Let's hear it for our Fundraisers!

Stoke Prior Bares All

Earlier on we introduced you to Jo our Volunteers' Manager who runs our GALS group. Kim one of our GALS Group lives in Stoke Prior, her community, who in 2022 decided together they wanted to fundraise for Primrose Hospice They came together and shortly after, decided on creating a Stoke Prior calendar showing more than just their smiles

£19,151

We are incredibly pleased to say they have now raised over from the sponsors and sales of the calendars! They had support from local businesses who sponsored the calendar and the photos were taken by Julie King and Darren Shipman (who even modelled themselves too!)

2 countries, 12 days, 382km One fantastic fundraiser

In November 2022 Mark Roberts took on the challenge of cycling from Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, raising funds for Primrose along the way

In 2021 Mark’s sister was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer and she was supported by Primrose before she sadly died Mark said she often spoke of the comfort and support she had received when she was with us.

£741 25

Mark raised an incredible (inc Gift Aid) and shared: “It was great to travel off the beaten track and really get to experience the fabric of Vietnam and Cambodia. I feel privileged to have been able to do something like this and pleased that I could also raise some money for a good cause at the same time. I am planning to ride from London to Paris later this year and hope to raise some more money for Primrose Hospice.”

Jo said:

“We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who has supported this fantastic calendar and no words can ever express how grateful we are at Primrose Hospice.

This will make such a difference to the activities that we are now able to do in the future Thank you ”

Lickey End gets in the groove for Primrose Hospice

Kevin Rowland and Lickey End Social Club have been putting their best dancing shoes on for fantastic gig nights held throughout 2022 for Primrose Hospice.

They were joined by great bands as well as Kevin & Friends with their members and guests coming out to support their local hospice The President of the club said:

£1,708

The gig nights have raised so far and are set to continue throughout 2023! Check out Lickey End Social Club’s Facebook page to keep up to date.

Photo credit: www juliekingphotography co uk

"The Primrose Hospice serves the people of Bromsgrove in a profound and special way and if we can play our part in supporting the amazing work of staff and volunteers at the Hospice we are honoured to do so”

How would you make your Fiver Flourish?

Bromsgrove Preparatory School have been busy raising vital funds through our Flourishing Fivers school fundraising project. Each student is given £5.00 which they then have to make “grow”. The year seven students have been setting themselves various fundraising incentives from a sponsored 6000 squat challenge, a 30km cycle from Bromsgrove to Worcester, cold showers, and even a mini triathlon

From September – December 2022 they’ve raised an incredible £10,004! Caroline Leather the student’s teacher said:

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Lucy at the hospice She has encouraged our Year 7 children to be entrepreneurial in raising funds and we are delighted that the money raised is going to such a great cause. Thanks to everyone at Primrose for giving us the opportunity to help.”

Letterbox Love spreads positivity on Valentine’s Day

We were so pleased to launch our new Primrose campaign – Letterbox Love earlier in 2023. Amy Bethel who received a Yellow Rose said: “It was a wonderful surprise to receive the beautiful Yellow Rose through my letterbox. My sister chose to send a rose to brighten my day and the fact that I know her donation is helping to support people who are bereaved is lovely.”

Could you fundraise for us?

There are a huge variety of ways you could fundraise for Primrose Hospice, whether you prefer to do that solo or with a group of friends, we have something for everyone! Visit our website or contact our fundraising team to find out more!

How do I get in touch with the fundraising team?

Call us: 01527 889796

Email us: info@primrosehospice.org

www.primrosehospice.org

Sponsored Steps

We would love for you to meet Paige, who in 2022 did a sponsored walk with her school friends and her teache from Aston Fields Midd School. On the 9th July they walked 20 laps of Stoke Prior Club Field raising for Primrose!

Paige said:

“I organised this sponsored walk because I really wanted to do something to give back to the people who have helped and changed people’s lives for the better

I hope the money we have raised helps you all at Primrose Hospice."

Dates for your diary

Join Primrose Hospice for one of our fundraising events in 2023:

Danceathon: Sunday 21st May

Yellow Week: 5th-11th June

Orchardfest: 11th + 12th August

Ball: Saturday 14th October

Please check our website for more info: primrosehospice org/support-us/events-calendar

£257.71

Treat yourself this Easter!

Take some time out this Easter to try out this delicious mini egg cupcake recipe! Enjoy with your loved ones or treat yourself!

Instructions: Cupcakes! 1.

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan, and fill your tray with cupcake cases.

Beat together your sugar and butter until light and fluffy! Add the flour, vanilla extract and eggs & beat until smooth Crush 200g of Mini Eggs and fold into your mixture!

Fill your cupcake cases evenly with your mixture, and bake in the oven for 18-22 minutes!

Once baked, place your cupcakes to completely cool before decorating.

Ensure your butter is at room temperature. Beat the butter on its own until soft!

Carefully add the icing sugar and vanilla extract, and beat until smooth and combined.

Evenly split the buttercream between three bowls Add your food colouring to the separate bowls, leaving the third as it is for a pale yellow colour!

Spoon your three colours of buttercream around the edge of a large piping bag, with a 2D closed star piping tip in the end Pipe your buttercream in swirls on top of the cupcakes. Your colours should come out in a rainbow fashion!

Sprinkle on some crushed Mini Eggs and any other decorations you fancy - ENJOY!

Recipe courtesy of:

www.janespatisserie.com/2019/03/27/mini-egg-cupcakes/

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Decorating Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Servings: 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

150 g unsalted butter

150 g caster sugar

150 g self raising flour

3 medium eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

200 g Mini Eggs

250 g unsalted butter

500 g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Buttercream (or any colour you like!)

Blue & Yellow food colouring

Extras

Mini Eggs!

What you've said

You have helped me through the most difficult time of my life I’m confident that through difficult times and feelings I will allow myself to feel them and express them to people and be okay

Now is time for me to spread my wings and fly!

I always feel safe and able to express myself and my thoughts and feelings in this group.

Our Mum really looks forward to Therapeutic Singing. Thank you so much everyone at Primrose you are all wonderful.

The overall feeling I get when I come here is that you’re here for me. You’re not talking at me, you’ve come down or up to my level wherever I’m at and you’re talking to me.

Brian Fitzmaurice

It is with huge sadness that we say ‘goodbye’ to a very precious and highly regarded member of our Hospice staff, Brian Fitzmaurice, who died suddenly and unexpectedly. Brian worked passionately for Primrose for 14 years ensuring our facilities were maintained to the highest standards

Brian was a practical, innovative and w massive contribution to maintaining and and volunteers One of the most memor continued to work throughout this time; doing because volunteers were not ava or a member of staff was furloughed.

Determined, dedicated and diligent to Brian loved Primrose Hospice and Primro Those of us who knew Brian well truly ap that lay within.

Thank you so much Brian for all you did f

There are no words to express our most heartfelt thanks for your love support and kindness at this most devastating time.

How to donate

All of our services and support that we provide here at Primrose Hospice & Family Support centre are free, which is why we heavily rely on donations from our generous public. We are really grateful for donations of any size to help us support more people in North East Worcestershire It’s simple to donate online through our website here: www primrosehospice org

If you would like to donate by cheque please make it payable to: ‘Primrose Hospice Ltd’ and post to: Fundraising Department, Primrose Hospice, St Godwalds Road, Bromsgrove B60 3BW. You can also donate over the phone by calling: 01527 889796 Thank you

How to access support

There are several ways you can access our support services

If you would like to make a referral to Day Hospice support you can call 01527 871051 or make a referral online here: primrosehospice org/careand-support/patientreferral-form

You can also talk to your GP, Consultant, District Nurse or any other health care professional involved in your care.

If you would like to access our Family Support Centre you can call: 01527 889799. For more information on all of our services visit: primrosehospice.org

How to stay in touch

From time to time we like to keep in touch with you to tell you about the exciting updates and fundraising events we have going on throughout the year.

You can now sign up to receive email updates on our website.

We want to keep our communications as cost effective and environmentally friendly as possible. If you would like to change the way we contact you, let us know what is the best way to contact you by getting in touch with our Fundraising Team: 01527 889796 or email: info@primrosehospice org

Thank you for your support