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Durham pupils raise thousands for Willow Burn Hospice

Tuesday 08 November 2011

Durham pupils raise thousands for Willow Burn Hospice

PUPILS at The Hermitage Academy in County Durham have raised a staggering £5,000 for Willow Burn Hospice in Lanchester.

The Specialist Technology College in Chester-le-Street selected the North West Durham charity as its beneficiary, and organised a number of events throughout the 2010-2011 academic year to raise funds for Willow Burn Hopsice.

Willow Burn Hospice was opened in 1989 and provides vital in-patient and community services from its base in the grounds of the former Maiden Law Hospital in Lanchester and while its services are free to patients and their families they are not free to provide. Willow Burn Hospice has to raise £2,479 every day to be able to provide palliative and end of life care services – in addition to raising the £5.7million needed to build the new fit-for-purpose hospice development.

As well as in-patient beds with Day Hospital, the hospice provides 24-hour nursing, advice and support, Out-Patient Clinics, Hospice at Home Services and Bereavement Support Services.

Helen Mills, Chief Executive of Willow Burn Hospice said support from organisations such as The Hermitage Academy is vital for the charity to be able to continue providing its services.

“What the pupils at The Hermitage Academy have done is remarkable, and we are so very grateful that they have chosen to support Willow Burn Hospice,” added Mrs Mills.

“The hospice receives just 42 per cent of its funding from government sources so every penny we receive from individuals, groups, organisations and businesses really counts. We are delighted to be so well supported by the Derwentside and wider County Durham communities but increasing the support we have and our fundraising activities is an on-going challenge.”

Fundraising events organised by the school students include, a 10K Survival of the Fittest run in Edinburgh, the Newcastle Stampede 10K run, the Allendale Challenge – a 26 mile walk, a dry land triathlon and running the length of Hadrian’s Wall in a day. The most recent event held at the school was the ‘Musical Medley’ evening on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (Saturday 8 October) – a unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world.

Every two years, Voices for Hospices, a global musical marathon of simultaneous concerts for hospice and palliative care is held on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, with the next marathon taking place on Saturday. The theme of this year’s Voices for Hospices event is ‘Many diseases, many lives, many voices – palliative care for non-communicable conditions’. The Musical Medley was one of thousands of events and activities taking place in approximately 70 countries every year, bringing together patients, families, health professionals, policy makers and funders to support hospice and palliative care.

Willow Burn Hospice currently occupies former hospital buildings and temporary offices while it raises the £5.7 million need to build the new hospice. The design of the new hospice takes on the appearance of barns, reflecting the rural nature of North West Durham, with the buildings appear to emerge from the landscape while maximising the uninterrupted views from the south of the site. The new hospice will see the number of in-patient beds increase from four to six, and include additional well-being facilities, such as a sun room, health spa, dance studio and therapy suite created.

For more information about how you could support Willow Burn Hospice visit www.willow-burn.co.uk or visit the charity’s high street stores at Stanley and Consett.