Published on: Thursday 20 Sep 2018 at 08:56
St Clare is set to launch a community art project as we celebrate Hospice Care Week this October!
St Clare Hospice is preparing to launch a community art project during Hospice Care Week, a national week of awareness-raising by the UK’s more than 200 hospices (8-14 October).
The theme of this year’s Hospice Care Week is ‘I heart my hospice’ which has inspired the idea for St Clare’s ‘Heart your Hospice’ art project. The five-month long community art project will launch at an Open Hospice Event to be held in the Hastingwood hospice centre on Wednesday 10th October 2018 and culminate with a final art piece completed by Valentine’s Day, 14th February 2019.
The Hospice’s Community Engagement Manager, Sally Muylders, is running the event and art project as a way to open up hospice care, and raise awareness of the charity’s free services, to more people from across West Essex and East Herts.
Outlining the Heart your Hospice art project, Sally Muylders, said:
“The Heart your Hospice community art project is about bringing together people from across our catchment area, and welcoming them to find out more about their hospice, and what we can do for them. Many people see the ‘hospice’ as just one building near Harlow – but we believe a hospice is also a very special way of caring, and connecting with people, which reaches far beyond the four walls of our centre in Hastingwood. We want St Clare to be a place which is supporting people, and connecting with them, wherever they are – and whatever stage of life they are at, not just at the end of their life.”
“Following the theme for the national Hospice Care Week of ‘I heart my hospice’ we are aiming to create a community art piece in the shape of a heart, made up of hearts that are created and decorated by people from across our catchment area. We are inviting local art and craft groups, schools, and any other local community groups, to get involved in helping to build this piece of art. It represents that we are a local hospice, for local people, and funded by local people. It is thanks to the heartfelt support of our local people that we are able to exist, and to deliver our compassionate care for free, which touches the hearts of so many people in our community.”
The Hospice is holding an Open Hospice event to launch the art project on Wednesday 10th October, 9.30am – 12pm, at St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood, CM17 9JX.
There are a limited number of spaces for community groups, so if you would like to attend please book your place with Sally Muylders on 01279 773709 or email sally.muylders@stclarehospice.org.uk
The Heart your Hospice art project will also be touring around West Essex and East Herts over the next few months. Sally Muylders will be able to deliver a myth busting hospice awareness workshop to your community group, and introduce the art project to you, so that you can create your own hearts for the art piece. If you would be interested in arranging a workshop and to take part in the Heart your Hospice project, please contact Sally.
To help as many people as possible to get involved in creating a heart to be included in the art piece, the Hospice have created a simple downloadable template which is available on their website for free: www.stclarehospice.org.uk/heart-your-hospice
Simply download the template, cut out your heart shape, decorate it and return it with your name and contact details to: FAO Sally Muylders, St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood, CM17 9JX