A Big Band Dance Party organised by a Harlow couple for the last 13 years has now raised more than £39,000 for St Clare Hospice. This year's event earlier this month (April) organised by Jean and Dave Roberts featured music from Todd Miller and The Joe Loss Orchestra, adding £4,000 to the staggering total raised since 2000. The popular dances have now raised enough money to pay for the entire In Patient Unit at the Hospice to be run for 10 days. Some 200 people enjoyed the latest night at Broxbourne Civic Hall but Jean Roberts has revealed that the first ever dance almost never happened because of a lack of interest. An article in a local newspaper sparked a rush for tickets and since then the event has become a permanent fixture in the Hospice's events calendar. Looking back to their first dance night, Jean said: "We were scared to death because we weren't selling many tickets. We had booked the hall and the band but the ticket sales were very slow." Jean contacted a local newspaper and after it published a halfpage article, her phone was red hot with requests for tickets. Jean added: "It should have only been one dance but Caroline Bore (who worked at St Clare Hospice) kept on saying we should do it again and again." And so they did. Over the 13 years the event has raised more than £39,000, and the Roberts have no intention of ending their fundraising efforts just yet. Jean said: "I've already booked for next year and put the deposit down!" So why is the event such a success? "The age group we cater for are people who remember the big band era and there is nothing else that caters for that age group," Jean said. "People just phone me and send me cards and say what a wonderful event it was and it just snowballs. People tell their friends." Jean added: ''We all had another fantastic evening thanks to everyone that supported us. “Special thanks must go to Barclays Bank for their generosity in sponsoring us and to their fundraising team Kelly Garner (Barclays Harlow Old Town), Helen McAndrew, Jo Hearne and Tina Morgan from (Barclays Hoddesdon) for giving up their valuable time and for their sterling efforts on the night and of course not forgetting those generous individuals who kindly donated our raffle prizes.'' Elizabeth Palfreman, Director of Fundraising at St Clare, said: "Jean and Dave are an incredible couple who have raised an incredible amount for St Clare. “It's supporters like the Roberts who are the backbone of St Clare and we are indebted to them for the effort they put into this event which has grown and grown in popularity over the years."

GIVE A GALLON AND KEEP OUR NURSES ON THE ROAD

St Clare Hospice has this week launched a fundraising campaign to keep our Specialist Palliative Care Nurses on the road.

Every day, the specialist nurses are out and about in the community visiting patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families. An average day can see each of our four-strong team clock up around 60 miles in their own vehicles – that costs the Hospice around £24 a day. Keeping the whole team working in the community, visiting around 1,500 patients a year, costs us around £1,000 a day.

Alison Kempthorne, from the St Clare Community Palliative Care Team, said: “Every time we fill our petrol tanks we are aware that the increasing price of petrol is having a real impact on the cost of providing this vital service and that is why we’re asking for support for our  ‘Give a Gallon’ campaign. With the average cost of a gallon of petrol ever rising, your help can literally keep us on the move.”

The Hospice at Hastingwood is central to our activities – housing the eight-bed in patient unit and day therapy services - but more and more patients are choosing to receive Hospice care in their own homes.  The St Clare Community Palliative Care Team helps patients in their own homes manage the symptoms of disease, providing advice and support so that patients can live in comfort and dignity in the familiar surroundings of home.

The campaign co-incides with the name change for the nurses. The term Macmillan has disappeared, following an agreement with Macmillan Cancer Support, because Macmillan does not fund our nurses, and a significant number of the patients we care for do not have cancer.

Louise Cameron, Director of Patient Care at St Clare, said: “Our nurses help people with all life-limiting illnesses or diseases, not just cancer and renaming them Specialist Palliative Care Nurses helps underline this.

“For many of our patients visited in their own home, the Specialist Palliative Care Nurse is their first contact with St Clare Hospice and they or their loved ones may not be aware of the other services available to them. We hope to change that.”

Hospice services to patients and families boosted by £472,000 grant
A Space to Breathe project which will see a refurbishment of St Clare Hospice to benefit patients and their families has been given vital funding from the Government.
The Hospice has been awarded £472,098 from a Department of Health capital grant to create revitalising and inspiring spaces and enhance the sensory and therapeutic environment of the Hastingwood site.
The refurbishment, which will begin in April, will include many areas of the Hospice building, modernising and developing spaces for patients and families.
“The Space to Breathe project will in many ways allow patients and their families to be themselves, giving people greater independence,” said chief executive Tanya Curry.
“The refurbishment will give areas of the Hospice a real uplift, injecting light and space, incorporating modern facilities especially in the older parts of the building.
“I’m delighted that the Department of Health has endorsed the changes we are desperate to make: their grant means that more of the money that our fantastic supporters raise for us day in and day out can be spent on providing care in much improved facilities.”
Running the Hospice costs £2.8 million a year and these costs still remain. The NHS only funds 30% of the Hospice’s costs.
The Space to Breathe project was crafted following discussions with patients, families, volunteers, staff, trustees and other stakeholders.
Tanya added: “We recognised that people need room and space, which is open and inviting, yet intimate enough to respond to changing needs. We hope that once complete our clinical services will be modern, inspiring but above all a therapeutic environment finished to the same excellent standard we achieved for our Inpatient Unit bedrooms.”
The work is expected to be completed by March 2014 and all the Hospice’s services will remain open during the refurbishment project.

BBC TV gardener springs a surprise on winners of hospice’s Spring Raffle

BBC TV gardener Christine Walkden made three lovely phone calls to three lucky St Clare Hospice supporters telling them they had won prizes in the Hospice’s Spring Raffle.
Top prize of £2,000 went to Vera Eley, of Potter Street. Vera, who works at Harlow Garden Centre, said: “I was at work so Christine left a message for me. As soon as I came in my husband Stan was ‘Come on, Come on, listen to this message!‘ It was a lovely surprise!”
More than 27,000 tickets were sold for the Spring Raffle in just eight weeks enough to fund the entire eightbed inpatient unit for a whole week.
“It’s a fantastic amount to raise in such a short space of time and shows just how important the Hospice is to local people, even in these tough times,” said Christine.
Second prize of £250 went to Constance Mantle, of Buckhurst Hill ,and the £100 winner was Margaret Lynch, from Harlow.
The winning tickets were drawn last Thursday (March 28).

Hospice supporter to run London Marathon in memory of his mother
A London Marathon runner will be supporting St Clare Hospice when he takes part in his first 26mile race in memory of his mother who was cared for by the “angels” at the hospice.
Matthew Ball, 44, was born and brought up in Bishop’s Stortford and lived in the town until six years ago. He now lives in Belsize Park, London.
Matthew said: “My mum, Dawn Ball, passed away last February after a long battle against cancer.
Matthew’s mother lived in Stane Close, Bishop’s Stortford, where his father continues to live.
Matthew added: "It is in her honour and for the amazing people at St Clare Hospice, where my mum was in their care for her final couple of weeks, that I have decided to take the leap and run my first marathon."
He added: “They allowed my mum to have a dignified final few days and gave all the family, my dad especially, the support and comfort to allow us to concentrate our time on just being there with my mum.
“At the time my uncle described the nurses and helpers as ‘angels’. I can think of no better words.”
Matthew has been training hard for the race on Sunday, April 21, completing a long run each weekend, increasing over the weeks to a maximum of 22 miles a couple of weeks ago.
Matthew, who works as an insurance broker at Aon Limited in London, said: “The support from friends and work colleagues has been amazing. The work St Clare does really hits home with so many people. Sadly far too many have their own experiences of friends and relatives needing similar help.”
Anyone wanting to support Matthew’s fundraising efforts should visit his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/MatthewBall1 Twelve runners will be taking part in this year’s London Marathon for St Clare Hospice and
it is hoped they will raise a total of about £20,000.
To help with their preparation the Hospice has provided information sessions for the runners. Physiotherapist and Paralympic runner Noel Thatcher has been on hand to offer advice while a physiotherapy session was given by Hospice physio Tommy Yamaguchi.
The Hospice’s fundraising team has been offering assistance with fundraising ideas for the runners to help them boost their final totals.

New name for our community nurses

ST CLARE Hospice community nurses have undergone a name change, effective from Friday March 15, to better reflect their value and modern role caring for patients in their own homes.
The nurses are now called St Clare Specialist Palliative Care Nurses and are part of the St Clare Community Palliative Care Team.
The term Macmillan has disappeared, following an agreement with Macmillan Cancer Support, because Macmillan does not fund our nurses, and a significant number of the patients we care for do not have cancer.
Louise Cameron, Director of Patient Care at St Clare, said: “Our nurses help people with all life-limiting illnesses or diseases, not just cancer and renaming them Specialist Palliative Care Nurses helps underline this.
“For many of our patients visited in their own home, the Specialist Palliative Care Nurse is their first contact with St Clare Hospice and they or their loved ones may not be aware of the other services available to them. We hope to change that.”
As part of its five-year strategy, currently out for consultation, St Clare Hospice plans to enhance the work of the Community Palliative Care Team. Developments include introducing a full Hospice at Home service seven days a week, developing clinics in other parts of our catchment area and extending our bereavement service to help children.
Tanya Curry, St Clare Hospice Chief executive said: “We have big plans for the St Clare Community Palliative Care Team, and ensuring that St Clare is seen as a key provider yet working in partnership with others, is essential. The renaming of the nurses and the team is a vital step along the way.”
In the last financial year, the cost of the St Clare Community Palliative Care Team was £412,000. We currently only receive 30% from the NHS towards our total annual running costs. For the majority of our income we rely on fundraising, people making donations, leaving gifts in Wills and organising events.
Tanya added: “We feel it’s important that patients and their families recognise that our nurses work for and are funded wholly by St Clare. People have an affinity with their local area, and they recognise that St Clare Hospice is a charity close to their hearts, committed to delivering skilled and compassionate care for our local community.”

Use of the St Clare Hospice name and brand

St Clare Hospice is always grateful that so many members of our community hold events or offer their services with a donation to us. Very occasionally we are made aware of events/services that use the St Clare Hospice name inappropriately or in a way that may affect our reputation.

If you are raising money for us, please let us know in advance so we can help validate your event/service if concerned members of the public contact us.

If you are concerned about any activity you see purporting to be in the name of St Clare that you feel is illegal or inappropriate, please tell us or call the police.

Thank you