The annual charity dance was held at the Railway Club, Ashford. The company paid for the disco and main raffle prize and staff contributed the rest of the prizes and food for the event. Bev said, “It was a fabulous evening enjoyed by all the staff.”

Marion said, “It was lovely to be able to continue the eleven year tradition of supporting Pilgrims Hospices. Colleagues both past and present have received care from staff and volunteers there and it has become a local charity dear to all our hearts.”

Sharon Burberry, Fundraising Assistant said, “It is wonderful to have such long lasting support and commitment from Premier Foods. Their contributions over the last eleven years have made such a positive impact on the work we carry out. Pilgrims Hospices provides palliative care for adults with a range of illnesses that cannot be cured including cancer, heart failure, respiratory conditions and neurological diseases both in the hospice and at home.”

For more information about how to organise your own event in aid of Pilgrims Hospices, please contact the Fundraising office on 01233 505111

Over the last twenty years, the Norton Knatchbull Jazz Band has won numerous top national awards and has performed in the country’s top venues including the Royal Albert Hall.

This year they will be performing on Friday 9th March 2011 from 7pm. There are only 8 tables of ten left at £15 per head to include a “bangers and mash” supper. (A vegetarian option will be available, but please order when booking.) There are still seats available in the upper circle not including food for £7.50 for those of you who just wish to enjoy the music. Throughout the evening a licensed bar will available.

Performances in the evening will be provided by a variety of Jazz Bands from Norton Knatchbull Jazz Orchestra Razervoice Barber Shop Quartet. Once again there will be a raffle with some stunning prizes on offer. All proceeds from the evening will go to Pilgrims Hospices.

 Daniel Stanyon, Jazz Orchestra representative said, “After the success of last year’s Jazz event, we were keen to be able to continue this as a tradition so it is great to be able to perform once again for the Hospice. We are really looking forward to entertaining everyone. “

Sharon Burberry, Fundraising Assistant said, “The Jazz evening has proved to be very popular again and tickets are going quickly. We still have a few left though, so buy yours today.”

Tickets for the event are only available from Pilgrims Hospice Ashford Fundraising Office 01233 504111. Contact sharon.burberry@pilgrimshospices.org or deirdre.mewse@pilgrimshospices.org for more information or to book your tickets.

Lianne explained, “Having climbed to the top of Kilimanjaro I wanted to do something equally challenging. The idea of scaling three mountains in 24 hours seemed to fit the bill! Church and Dwight, the company I work for have recently adopted Pilgrims Hospices as their charity of the year, so I decided to make this my contribution to their fundraising efforts.”

She added, “Pilgrims Hospice is a local charity that does amazing work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. They rely heavily on support from the local community to keep doing what they do best, providing care and support to the people of eastKentto help them to cope with death, dying and bereavement.”

Nigel Donkin, Fundraising Manager said, “We wish Lianne well in her endeavour. Walking one mountain is impressive, but three is staggering. The money she raises will help provide palliative care for adults with a range of illnesses that cannot be cured including cancer, heart failure, respiratory conditions and neurological diseases both in the Hospice and at home.”

If you would like to support Lianne, you can visit her just giving page, www.justgiving.com/Lianne-Piper .

There were big celebrations as The SanDS centre officially opened at Pilgrims Hospice Thanet following a two day launch event on Wednesday and Thursday last week.

Family Services Manager for Pilgrims Hospice Thanet Chris Smith explains,

“The launch days celebrated the opening of The SanDS (Thanet, Sandwich and Deal Support services) which is the centre at the Pilgrims Hospice Thanet offering programmes of support and care for patients with life limiting illness and support for their families.  So many people think of hospice care as being the last few days of life as an inpatient.  Although this is an important part of the care we offer, we also offer a whole lot more for our community patients and their families.  All the services we offer are free of charge so it was fantastic to be able to welcome members of the community including medical professionals working locally to come and see what we have on offer.

Margaret Wright, 67 from Margate has been attending Day Hospice which is now part of The SanDS Centre for 9 months. She explained,

“Like lots of over people, I had to be talked in to coming in the first time but I’m so pleased I did. There is so much on offer for people and you can choose how much or how little you want to get involved in.  If anyone is thinking about hospice care, my advice would be to give it a try. You have nothing to lose by coming.”

Paul Sayer, 50, from Margate is a Design Engineer at Honeywell Aerospace in Broadstairs.  Since coming to the arts and crafts sessions Paul has discovered an amazing talent for painting and enjoys the Monday sessions.

Paul explains, “The best thing about coming here is that you can get an answer to any question all under one roof.  If the person that can help isn’t available, the team can make appointments or get the information you need.  That is a huge help when so much is changing and happening to you.”

Cllr Bill Hayton officially opened the centre and praised staff and volunteers for their hard work, dedication and shared hopes for the continued excellent care for patients living locally with life limiting illnesses.  Thanet District Council have supported Pilgrims Hospice Thanet over its 20 year history and both are confident this will continue in the future.

For more information about any of the services and programmes offered at The SanDS, please call please contact Mary or Karen on 01843 233924.

A group of young leaders, Charlotte Jones, Amy Saunders, Ellie Keenan and Caitlin Lumsden organised the nocturnal activity as part of their Young Leadership training. It involved Guides navigating to various checkpoints on farmland around the Royal Military Canal monitored by Young Leaders. They then took part in an activity at that checkpoint before finding their way to the next one. The evening was great fun, albeit very dark and very cold!

Charlotte Jones, Young Leader said, “Recently a friend died of cancer. He had been to the Hospice as a day patient and for respite care and always spoke of how much he loved going there. I wanted to do something to help the work continue. We had the opportunity to organise a charity event for the younger Guides and after a group discussion we all decided to support Pilgrims Hospices.”

Nigel Donkin was delighted with their enthusiasm saying, “It is always a great pleasure to see young people getting involved with Pilgrims Hospices. The money raised helps us provide palliative care for adults with a range of illnesses that cannot be cured both in the Hospices and at home. The care is also extended to families and carers. When young people become involved like this, it gives us much confidence in the future of the Hospices. “

If you would like to hold your own fundraising event, please call Deirdre or Sharon on 01233 504111

Tickets, on sale for £1 each, have been sent out to Pilgrims Hospices Supporters across the county but more are available by calling 01227 379741. The proceeds from the draw will help to fund Pilgrims Hospices services for patients and their families.

This draw is the first of a programme of events marking the 30th anniversary of the local charity in 2012. This year the 1st prize is £3,000, the 2nd prize is £750 and £250 is on offer for the third prize, plus extra prizes for quick response entries by 27th February. The closing date for the draw is 5th March and the winners will be drawn on 19th March.

Shiralee Riddell, Lottery Manager said, “£78,000 was raised last year in the draw which marked the 15th Anniversary of the Pilgrims Hospices Lottery and we’re hoping to raise even more for the charity this year. In total loyal lottery players have contributed over £5 million to the running of the hospices since it began.”

For more information on the 30th Anniversary celebratory draw or about the Pilgrims Hospices Lottery call 01227 379741 or see www.pilgrimshospices.org for more details.

 After a stroll in the grounds, visitors enjoyed tea and coffee and a wide selection of home made cakes which were all donated by Pilgrims Hospices volunteers and staff and friends of Swarling Manor.

 Valerie Lamb, owner of Swarling Manor,  was delighted with the success of the event:   She said,  “When we saw the snow last week we were a little concerned, but we have been very busy all day and to have raised such a large amount of money is incredible. Our friends and family have been very supportive and donated some lovely home made cakes, which have all disappeared.”

 Deborah Kellond, Regional Fundraising Manager said: “It was an excellent event. The brilliant weather encouraged lots of our supporters to come out to see the snowdrops. Valerie and the team at Swarling Manor have been extremely supportive and we look forward to working together on further events. Over 75% of our funding comes from the local community and events like these are a great example of working together with our community partners.”

 Pilgrims Hospices will be holding a range of events to celebrate their 30^th Anniversary this year. To find out more about our events, please call 01227 812621 for more information.

Frances said, “I am going through with the head shave for Pilgrims Hospices as the charity has helped so many people in their time of need. I feel that the majority of people will have had some form of contact in their lives with Pilgrims, whether it is friends or family.  I have had friends and family pass through too, so this is very dear to me. Pilgrims Hospices is such an important charity, I hope people will sponsor me, may it be large or small as it is such a worthwhile charity.”

 Karen Kenward, Regional Fundraising Manager said: “The support we receive from the local community is absolutely wonderful. Frances has a beautiful head of hair and is a very brave young lady. The Pilgrims staff feel very privileged to have Frances’ support and we hope that many people will sponsor her for this amazing challenge. Pilgrims Hospices services are free of charge to our patients and their families, but we need to raise in excess of £9 million every year. We couldn’t do this with out the support of people like Frances.”

 Mrs Lesley Brian an employee of Smiths Medical International Ltd had the brilliant idea of a “book club” where people could either bring in their unwanted books, buy books or of course do both.  Lesley approached the Social club who were more than happy to bring this idea into fruition.  Now across the Ashford and Hythe sites there are books to borrow or buy.  Everyone has been very generous with their donations of books and has kept both sites with a ready supply. The scheme run by Mrs Barbara Fraser, the Social Club Administrator, raised £500 for Pilgrims Hospices from the sale of books for the last six months.  This combined with the £350 proceeds of the Company Christmas raffle meant that a donation of £850 could be made.

 Mr Steve Ogilvie, who presented the cheque said, “We are delighted to be able to present Pilgrims Hospices with this cheque today. The book club has been a fantastic hit with the staff and their commitment to the Hospice was clear in the amount they raised both with this and in our Christmas Raffle. The staff appreciate the work that is done by Pilgrims in the community and are pleased we can go some way to enabling its work to continue.” 

Deirdre Mewse, Fundraising Assistant who received the cheque on behalf of Pilgrims Hospices responded saying, “It is always a delight to receive a cheque as every penny we receive makes such a difference to the work we can do. As an avid book reader, I love the idea that unwanted books can not only give new enjoyment to different people, but that Pilgrims can benefit from it too. With donations such as these we are able to provide palliative care for adults with a range of illnesses that cannot be cured including cancer, heart failure, respiratory conditions and neurological diseases. Care is provided in patients’ homes and via community programmes and is extended to families and carers.”

The weekly group for patients and carers is held at the Phoenix Railway Social Club in Crabble Road and means that patients no longer need to travel to the hospice in Canterbury for support from professionals and their peers.

Kathleen Griffin, Associate Practitioner for Pilgrims Hospices has been leading the group. She said, “When we started the sessions we had certain ideas about what activities we should do. What has been a wonderful surprise is the way that the patients and carers have taken the lead on what they would find helpful. We give information about hospice services as well as having creative activities.”

She continued: “We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the Phoenix Railway Social Club which provides the rooms to us free of charge. The club offers a welcoming and social place where it’s easy for everyone to relax and enjoy each others company.”

Cancer patient Patricia Barry from Lydden said: “I’m not a group sort of person but this is a great resource which is fantastic for friendship, financial information and advice from the nurses. You can just come in and take your wig off without embarrassment! There are plenty more people who could benefit from coming here if only they knew about it.”

Maureen Griffin, Family Services Manager said: “So many people think that hospice care is about the last few days of life in a hospice bed. The services we offer are much broader than this and the patient support group helps patients to manage their conditions better, access specialist help and provide support from people who are in a similar position.”

To find out more about the services Pilgrims Hospices offers go to www.pilgrimshospices.org or call 01227 459700 for more details.