Category Archives: Hospice News

Two new appointments to Tŷ Hafan children’s hospice executive team

Tŷ Hafan children’s hospice has announced two new senior appointments, strengthening the 23-year-old charity’s executive team. 

Tracy Jones, Tŷ Hafan’s former Head of Community & Partnerships, has been appointed to the new role of Director of Family Wellbeing & Outreach Services. This new directorate is a first for children’s hospices in the UK.  

Maria Timon Samra, Chief Executive, said: “The new role of Director of Family Wellbeing & Outreach Services reflects Tŷ Hafan’s commitment to ensuring that children in Wales with life-shortening conditions, their siblings and families can access care and support when and where they need it most. 

“Since joining the charity in 2009 as a senior family support practitioner, Tracy has successfully built out our community propositions.  A key contributor in our care leadership team, she has always put children, young people and families at the heart of everything we do to ensure they benefit from Tŷ Hafan’s services, whether in the hospice, at home, in hospital or in the community.” 

A qualified social worker, Tracy Jones, said: “I am very excited to join the executive team and to have the opportunity to lead and further develop our family wellbeing and outreach services. I have had the immense privilege of meeting hundreds of families during my years at Tŷ Hafan and know, from listening to their stories, just how much they value our community-based support and this is something I hope to be able to grow.  I look forward to working closely with the families and my colleagues to continuously improve the services we offer.”  

Also joining Tŷ Hafan’s executive team is Jenna Lewis, who has been appointed to the role of Director of Income Generation. 

“Jenna is no stranger to Tŷ Hafan, having previously been Head of Individual Giving for the charity from 2012-2015,” said Maria Timon Samra.  “As a Trustee during that time I was really impressed by Jenna’s professionalism, clarity of thought, insightful use of data and her commitment to generating income to support the provision of care. 

“With extensive charity experience, over the past seven years Jenna has further developed her expertise, including in the role of Director of Fundraising and Communications at Llamau. 

“It has been a pleasure to give her a warm welcome (back!) to Tŷ Hafan.” 

Said Jenna, who has also previously worked for Horatio’s Garden and Macmillian Cancer Support: “Tŷ Hafan is an iconic Welsh charity which has provided care and support for more than 1,100 children with life-shortening conditions and their families in Wales since it first opened its doors in 1999. 

“It now costs £5.2m a year – equivalent to £14,500 a day – for us provide those care and support services. The vast majority of that sum we raise ourselves, thanks to the generosity of our amazing supporters in Wales and beyond.  

“This is an incredibly challenging time to be fundraising with the rise of cost of living hitting everyone hard, but it is so important that we are able to raise the funds we need to ensure that every family with a child with a life-shortening condition in Wales gets the support and care they need, when and where they need it. I am very excited about working with my colleagues across Hafan to ensure we are there for every family in Wales who needs us.” 

Welsh Rugby Union supports Forever Flowers campaign

THE Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) is supporting City Hospice’s award-winning Forever Flowers campaign this year.

Forever Flowers is an ‘in memory’ campaign which invites supporters to purchase a limited-edition flower to remember cherished family members, friends and loved ones. The unique, lasting tributes will form a striking display at Cardiff Castle from Saturday July 30 to Sunday August 14.

This year’s Forever Flower is a sunflower, which for many symbolises admiration, loyalty, devotion and positivity.

Staff from City Hospice recently visited the WRU’s training camp and spoke to players about Forever Flowers. Players heard about the charity’s important work in the community, from specialist palliative care to free bereavement support, and pledged their support to the campaign.

Nigel Walker, WRU Performance Director and City Hospice Ambassador, said: “I am delighted that the WRU and our players are supporting City Hospice’s Forever Flowers campaign.

“It will be a very special display at Cardiff Castle with each sunflower representing the life of someone who was loved. I am looking forward to visiting the display and would encourage our rugby community to support the campaign.”

Purchasing a Forever Flower supports the work of City Hospice, the only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in the capital. The charity, Cardiff’s local hospice, provides care to people with terminal or life limiting illnesses, as well as essential counselling and support services for the families of their patients.

Following the pandemic and the challenges around grieving, City Hospice’s free bereavement support is available to anyone in Cardiff who needs it, not only families in their care.

The charity’s continued care and compassion for its patients, families and community during the pandemic and beyond, as well as the opportunity to remember loved ones through the Forever Flowers campaign, has been recognised locally and nationally this year. City Hospice won the ‘Charity’ category at the Cardiff Life Awards and CSR Campaign of the Year at the Wales Business Awards.

Dads complete gruelling 10nTaff fundraising challenge to raise funds for Tŷ Hafan children’s hospice

A group of fathers of children supported by  Hafan children’s hospice have completed an extreme challenge which involved three days of almost non-stop physical exertion in a bid to raise funds for the charity 

The team of eight managed to successfully scale Wales’ 10 highest peaks in just two days, then cycle 53 miles from Brecon to St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay on Saturday, completing the whole challenge from start to finish in just over 55 hours. 

The challenge was the brain-child of a group of dads led by commercial photographer Paul Fears, 56, whose son Greg, now 30, was looked after by  Hafan as a child. 

Paul, of Church Village, near Cardiff, who also organised the whole event, said: “In 2018, a group of us fathers had done the 5 in 55 Challenge – a combination of the UK national Three Peaks and the Welsh Three Peaks – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon, Cadair Idris and Pen-y-Fan. As a result of doing this we won a JustGiving fundraising award. 

“After we’d done that we decided we wanted to do something else even more challenging.” 

“The idea for the 10nTaff Challenge for  Hafan was to do a challenge that encompassed all of Wales bringing in the 5 mountains in the North and South. As we still wanted it to last 55 hours, we were left with a spare day and so we thought that we’d bring in cycling the Taff Trail as it is something that  Hafan has done so well for so many years.  The boys really thanked me for that on Saturday morning!” 

Matt Evans, 34, from Swansea, whose daughter Darcy, 5, is supported by  Hafan described the challenge as: “Intense, extreme, tiring, but all worth it in the end.  

Matt, a vehicles trainer for the DVLA, added: “The lack of sleep was one of the hardest things to deal with plus the long days. We didn’t finish our last mountain on the first day until very late and then were up again, tackling the second bunch of six mountains at 7am the next day and all this after very little sleep in a minibus. The tiredness was the biggest factor. Keeping going – it was just very difficult.” 

James Meacham, 43, from Pontllanfraith, whose son Thomas was cared for by  Hafan before he died at the age of nine in 2019, said: “Everyone had a crash at least once mentally, thinking I can’t do this anymoreI need to stop, I need to have a rest.  

“But the collective determination in the group was amazing. Everybody picked each other up and got each other going and I think that speaks volumes and it draws parallels as to what you go through as a hospice parent. 

James, a Project Manager for BT, added: “It’s a bit of a cliché but a few days of blood, sweat and tears and achy muscles is nothing compared to what the kids and families go through. So obviously that was the main driver for us, to get this done and to raise as much money for the hospice as possible.” 

The group, which received sponsorship from Bunting Berkhamstead, Viridor and Convey Law, set out to raise £50,000 for the hospice, which needs £5.2 million a year to provide care and support for children with life-limiting conditions and their families in Wales. 

With the current total raised at over £40,000, the group were kept updated on the fundraising total throughout the 55 hours of the challenge. 

Added Matt: “It was unbelievable to hear all the figures we were getting. On the mountains, we were so tired and then Paul would tell us how much we were at in terms of fundraising and we would all get a big hit from it then because we could see that it was so worth it with the money coming in from  Hafan 

“It was good to hear we were raising so much money for the hospice, and still are, because there is still time for people to donate – and they are. 

 Hafan needs £5.2m a year to offer the services that they do for us as families so it’s a drop in the ocean what we are doing for them in terms of the overall picture. But it was all so worth it just to know that we are raising lots of awareness and lots of money for them, to keep a very special charity going for as long as possible.” 

Jenna Lewis, Director of Income Generation for  Hafan, said: “All fathers of children supported by  Hafan have to face the most enormous challenges on a round-the-clock, daily basis. The dads who took part in the 10nTaff Challenge have raised more than £40,000 for us thanks to their incredible commitment and effort in climbing 10 mountains and cycling 53 miles in just 55 hours. We are so glad that they have all made it back safely and incredibly grateful to them for what they have done for us – and for all the support and donations they have received.” 

Moneypenny raise money for the Nightingale House Hospice on the midnight walk

A strong team from Moneypenny took part in the Nightingale Midnight Walk on Saturday 25th June to help raise money for the Nightingale House Hospice and to light up the streets of Wrexham with a community feel.

They not only raised hundreds of pounds for the important charity but also were joint sponsors of the event along wtih Hafren Dydrdwy, Hoya Lens UK Ltd & Village Bakery and attended beforehand to soak up the atmosphere and paint other entrants with stunning glitter face paints and hand out glow sticks.

At the event there was live entrainment and the fabulous motivational coach ‘Amanda Roberts’ helped to make sure everyone was warmed and ready for the walk ahead.

There were also local food vendors so people could purchase some pre walk treats and lots of legendary bunny ears and glow merchandise which the event has became famous for.

The walk started at midnight and this year there was a 10 mile and a 10Km option. At the end of the walk the hungry walkers received free tea and coffee and a sausage roll or Cheese slice.

Charlotte Ashdown, People Director at Moneypenny who also did the walk commented:

“We were delighted to be able to sponsor this hugely important event and the atmosphere was really electric. At Moneypenny we are passionate about our people and coming together to work as a team and it was wonderful to be able to see everyone supporting each other and most importantly having fun along the way.

The reality is that many of our employees have had a loved one directly needing the support of the hospice and this is why it is very close to our hearts. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to engage with fellow walkers and to share our journeys together along the night. “

Moneypenny Business Development Manager Tracy Gallagher comments:

“Supporting Nightingale House is so important to me, having witnessed first hand how wonderfully caring they were with my father in law and also more recently the support they gave to my step dad and also to my mum who was caring for him at the time. The compassion, dignity and respect shown by all the staff was incredible, words cannot express how grateful I am and just hope that by taking part to help raise funds will enable them to continue to help others too.”

Sarah Povey & Sam Amis – Event Fundraisers at Nightingale House added:

“The support from Moneypenny has been incredible, staff members have gone above and beyond to assist in the promotion and sponsorship of the event and we are thrilled to have shared this journey with them.  From announcing the comeback of the Midnight walk within the Moneypenny headquarters to the spectacular night itself. We are so grateful to have this amazing partnership.

“We cannot thank our community and all those involved enough for helping us to raise such a magnificent total towards patient care.”

Construction Co-workers Climb for City Hospice

The staff of Carter Lauren Construction have climbed the three Welsh peaks within 24 hours, raising over £17,000 in aid of City Hospice.

The team of 29, including City Hospice’s Corporate Fundraising Manager Nicky Piper, started climbing Snowdon at two in the morning, reaching the summit and returning by 8am to be greeted with refreshments organised by Carter Lauren Construction.

The team then went on to conquer Cadair Idris and travelled down to Pen Y Fan, finally reaching the peak and returning to the bottom 15 minutes before midnight.

The Carter Lauren Construction team are long term supporters of City Hospice, having completed the North to South bike ride last year, cycling over 225 miles and raising over £25,000.

The only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in Cardiff, City Hospice provides care to people with terminal or life limiting illnesses such as cancer, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and motor neurone disease (MND), in addition to bereavement support for families.

Organiser of the event, Jon Folkes, Senior Contracts Manager of Carter Lauren Construction, said: “Climbing the three Welsh peaks in 24 hours was extremely hard and there were lots of tears, but it is a memory that will stay with us for life and it was well worth it for the money we raised for the worthy City Hospice.”

Nicky Piper, Corporate Fundraising Manager at City Hospice, said: “We are extremely grateful to Carter Lauren Construction for supporting City Hospice. The money raised will help our wonderful clinical team care for patients suffering from a life-limiting illness.

“I personally would like to thank the team for allowing me to join them on challenge; I had an amazing time and made many new friends, even if it was one of the hardest things I’ve done!”

You can still sponsor the team and donate to City Hospice here: https://www.justgiving.com/team/CLCWelsh3Peaks

 

City Hospice Ambassadors spread the word

The business ambassadors of City Hospice, a leading charity in Cardiff, joined together for a lunch event at the Cardiff and County Club, to raise the hospice’s profile.

City Hospice has 11 business ambassadors, who are prominent figures in the business community across South Wales. They support the charity by hosting events, partaking in fundraising activities and generally raising awareness for the hospice.

Each of the ambassadors brought a guest from the business community in Cardiff to the lunch to further spread word of the charity and the essential care provided by them.

City Hospice provides palliative care for 550 patients with life limiting or terminal illnesses in Cardiff, in addition to services for patients’ families such as counselling and bereavement support.

The event, which was entirely funded by the ambassadors, saw Julie-Ann Haines, CEO of Principality Building Society, answer questions from the guests with a Q&A hosted by Nicky Piper, Corporate Relationship Manager at City Hospice. Liz Andrews, Chief Executive at City Hospice, also spoke about the work they do.

Andrew Walker, City Hospice ambassador and Business Development Director at Resource Ltd, said: “City Hospice is very much part of the city’s business community, but not everyone knows the full extent of the contribution it makes to all of us living in Cardiff – business ambassadors such as myself are aiming to change that. The lunch at the Cardiff and County Club is another step in raising awareness of this wonderful charity.”

Julie-Ann Haines, CEO of Principality Building Society, said: “It was an honour to join City Hospice and their business ambassadors for lunch as the hospice means a lot to me personally.  As a community-based organisation, Principality shares many of the same values as City Hospice as we are both focused on the great support of our members and communities.  I was humbled to join the team to share in City Hospice’s hopes and plans for the future.”

Liz Andrews, Chief Executive of City Hospice, said: “The ambassadors’ lunch was a great way to spread the word across the capital of the vital need for the work we do. As the need for our services continues to grow, we can only hope that the community’s support for us continues to be as strong, and the ambassadors are doing all they can to help that, for which we couldn’t be more grateful.”

If you would like to get involved by supporting the work of City Hospice you can do so by contacting fundraising@cityhospice.org.uk

North Wales Hospice Nightingale House welcomes return of flagship Midnight Walk event in 2022

NIGHTINGALE House Hospice has announced the return of its popular Midnight Walk this summer.

Promising to be bigger, better and brighter than ever before, the event will take walkers through the streets of Wrexham on Saturday, 25th June, 2022.

Fundraisers are hoping that over 1,000 walkers will step up to the mark together to help raise much-needed funds for the hospice, following a £100,000 + shortfall in fundraising due to the pandemic. Monies raised from this particular event will kick-start Nightingale House’s campaign to re-develop the inpatient unit, as part of its modernisation programme.

This year, we are inviting individuals, groups and families to join together to rekindle the magic of previous Midnight Walks, with the option of walking either 10km or 10 miles.

Two years ago the pandemic put paid to the hospice’s 25th Anniversary celebrations – so walkers are being asked to join the celebration and acknowledge 25 plus years Nightingale House has been offering hospice care at its Chester Road site.

Head of Fundraising, Louise Aubrey said: “Prior to the pandemic we hosted what we believed to be the final walk. However, after a tough few years for us all we felt it was the perfect time for us to put on this popular event to bring us all together to raise all our spirits and much needed funds for the hospice.

During the previous 13 midnight walk events, we have changed routes, distances, times and most famously t-shirt colours! This year will be no different and we are taking the bright colour theme to the next level.”

The walk will kick off on Saturday evening, going into the early hours of Sunday, 26 June. The party will get started with lively, loud and fun entertainment plus the usual warm up. At the stroke of midnight the walk will set off in style taking in the route from Llwyn Isaf, Wrexham (next to the Guildhall) and follow a fully marshalled course around Wrexham town centre and surrounding areas, before returning to Llwyn Isaf.

Registration is open now and is £15 per person. Included in the fee is an exclusive t-shirt to wear on the night, a Midnight Walk water bottle and a tasty treat when you cross the line.
In return, we ask participants in the walk to raise as much sponsorship as possible as now more than ever we need your support.

Sarah Povey, Fundraiser said: “We can’t wait for you to join in on the fun and make new memories. It doesn’t matter whether you’re walking individually or as a group, for the first time, or for the tenth time, as a personal challenge or in memory of a loved one. It just matters that you walk.”

Register for Midnight Walk 2022 at

www.nightingalehouse.co.uk

City Hospice appoints new business ambassadors

Leading figures in the South Wales business community have joined City Hospice as the charity’s newest ambassadors.

City Hospice is Cardiff’s local hospice, providing care to people with terminal and life limiting illnesses such as cancer, dementia, motor neurone disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in the capital, City Hospice provides care and compassion to 550 patients at any one time, in addition to essential counselling and support services for the families of their patients.

The newly appointed ambassadors will champion and spread the word about the charity’s work within their communities, in addition to supporting events and fundraising campaigns.

Joining Spiro Borg, Managing Director of Spiro’s Fine Dining, and Chris Macnamara, Managing Director of The Brogue Trader as business ambassadors are Kim Bird, CEO of Before You Go; Catherine Brannigan, The Waterloo Foundation; Sarah Clifford, Commercial and Sales Expert; Terry Edgell, CEO of Premier Forest Group; Sarah Hughes, Communications Officer at South Wales Police; Sarah Lister-Sims, Managing Director of Hospital Innovations; Alastair Milburn, Managing Director of Effective Communication; Sara Nurse, SLC Consultancy; Clive Thomas, Managing Partner at Watkins and Gunn; and Andrew Walker, Business Development Director at Resource Ltd.

Speaking about his new role, Andrew Walker said: “I have helped to raise funds for City Hospice over a number of years now, and the more I learn about their work and their impact on our capital city, the more I realise it’s a charity that is often overshadowed by others locally in the charitable health sector.

“Covid-19 has brought the reality of end-of-life-care into sharp focus. Indeed, having lost my own father to this dreadful disease and then waited over a year to hold a service for him, I realise how vital it is for those who are terminally ill to have the chance to die at home if that’s what they want. The team at City Hospice help this to happen, supporting the people of Cardiff facing terminal and life-limiting illnesses and their families, at the most difficult time of their lives. I am really keen to help spread the message about City Hospice, what it does for our city, and how valuable its work is for each of the 500 or so Cardiff citizens in its care every month.

“City Hospice is one of the hidden jewels within the crown of Cardiff’s healthcare provision. A lot of business people know the name but don’t have a clue what it is or what it does. I hope that I, and the other City Hospice Business Ambassadors, will help raise its profile amongst the South Wales business community, understand its role as a ‘non-residential hospice’ and encourage other business people to support its work.”

Liz Andrews, Chief Executive of City Hospice said: “We are thrilled to welcome this wonderful cohort of industry leading professionals as our new business ambassadors. Their support will be invaluable in raising awareness of our work and will help us to continue to provide care and compassion to patients and families in the community.”

Thankful patient celebrates doubling her fundraising target

A patient at Nightingale House has said a ‘big thank you’ after raising double the amount of money she originally planned.

Denise Cross set out to raise awareness about the facilities and treatments that Nightingale House Hospice provide, while raising 5K to support vital care for those with life-limiting illnesses by undertaking a sponsored head shave.

Within hours she hit her 5K target and the donations have continued to flow in ever since. She recently found out she had doubled her original target, with a total of £10,000 and the figure is still rising.

Denise wanted to thank everyone for their support. She said: “I am absolutely over the moon we have broken the £10k target. I’d just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me with their kind donations and to my daughter Katherine for kickstarting our Just Giving campaign. We’ll be leaving the page open for a little while if anyone would like to donate.”

The 62-year-old was diagnosed with metastatic kidney cancer whilst in Gibraltar visiting her daughter in September 2020. She received radiotherapy in Malaga and chemotherapy in Wrexham but was given just days to live. After an initial stay at Nightingale House Hospice back in February for pain symptom management she was able to return home to her daughter, Katherine, and she received physiotherapy sessions and complementary therapies through the hospice. She was then readmitted in May 2021 and has been there ever since.

Katherine Williams, Denise’s daughter commented: “I was upset at first when they said mum’s care would be better served at Nightingale House but I’m really grateful to the hospice team who recognised the complexity of her needs. I get to spend quality time chatting to mum now whilst making special memories.”

Denise’s fundraising page can be found at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katherine-williams33

Forever Flowers display opens to the public

A striking display of expertly crafted flowers within the grounds of Cardiff Castle opened to the public on Saturday (July 24).

Launched by leading Cardiff charity City Hospice earlier this year, the Forever Flowers campaign celebrates the lives of loved ones in a special way with unique and lasting tributes.

Supporters were invited to pre-order the limited-edition flowers to remember cherished family members, friends and loved ones. The campaign received an incredible response and over a thousand Forever Flowers feature in the display, which is free to visit and runs until Sunday August 8.

Forever Flowers supports the work of City Hospice, Cardiff’s local hospice, which is the only provider of home-based specialist palliative care in the capital.

The charity provides care and compassion to 550 patients at any one time with terminal or life limiting illnesses such as cancer, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and motor neurone disease (MND), as well as counselling and support services for their families.

Liz Andrews, Chief Executive of City Hospice, said: “We are so pleased to welcome everyone to the Forever Flowers display at such an iconic location. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response to the campaign which helps us to remember and cherish loved ones, as well as celebrate the important work of the charity.

“The display is free to visit and is something truly special; we encourage people to make a visit part of their plans during these first weeks of the summer holidays!”