Latest News from HospiceCare
Our latest Family Story Film is Released
20th October 2024
We're excited to announce that our latest family story film is now live. In this short film, we hear from the Grey family who share with us the impact of having HospiceCare's Hospice at Home team care for their Dad/Husband to enable him to die at home, which was his wish. The film has been sponsored in its entirety by The Northumberland Estates and produced by award-winning film/video producer, Chris Jackson.
Time to Celebrate
17th October 2024
This week we surprised our lovely Bereavement Support Coordinator, Maxine, with a celebration for her 20 years' service with HospiceCare North Northumberland. We feasted on party food and memories of the last 20 years. Maxine said "I love what I do, my work is an absolute privilege" Please joining us in congratulating Maxine.
We're Opening a New Store in Berwick
3rd October 2024
HospiceCare North Northumberland has been operating charity stores since their inaugural opening in Berwick in 2015, which have proved to be a significant revenue stream. As a strategic move towards expanding their income base, the organisation has declared plans to open a new charity store on Berwick High Street later this year.
Chris Orife, HospiceCare North Northumberland’s CEO said “As a local independent charity we need to generate around 95% of our annual income, so our strategy for care depends on sustainable growth funding to ensure the next 30 years of HospiceCare North Northumberland are as successful as the last 30 years. Income from our retail stores is pivotal to the implementation of our strategy which is to provide care to more people in our dispersed communities, where access to healthcare can be challenging. There is an ever-increasing demand for our services which means we have to remain agile and flexible to be able to support this ongoing demand. We know that people are living longer and with that, living for a longer period of time with life-limiting conditions. For example, we have identified a need for access to local Counselling services in particular, services for Children in pre and post bereavement phases and we have an income strategy in place to eventually be able to offer this support.
Research shows there are currently 944,000 people in the UK living with Dementia – a number that will quadruple by 2040. According to the Older People Population Information System (POPPI) it is anticipated that the number of people living with a dementia diagnosis in North Northumberland will increase from 5,396 in 2020 to over 7,000 by 2027. At HospiceCare, we recognise the profound impact dementia can have on a person and their loved ones. This challenging journey can affect all aspects of a person’s life as well as those around them, and everyone experiences dementia differently. Our Dementia Support Services are being developed with the aim of providing the majority of care in patients’ own homes and wraparound services such as Physiotherapy and nutritional advice at our wellbeing hubs across North Northumberland. We are working collaboratively with our GP practices where services can be joined up making it easier for patients to navigate and benefit from the support they need.
We anticipate our running costs to be circa £1.5m next year - up from £1.3m this year. Our retail stores have, and will continue to be, a vital source of income for the Hospice and present a key area for income growth. Every penny spent in our stores contributes to delivering care to patients in need in North Northumberland.
The current Berwick store has made a huge contribution to the success of the Hospice over the last nine years and we are grateful to our shop managers and volunteers for their tireless work. However, to increase our retail income we need to make sure that we are centrally placed to attract more customers and this is why we are opening our new shop on Berwick High street. Our current shop in Berwick is some distance from the town’s main thoroughfare and this impacts on the funds we are able to raise from the store.
We anticipate our existing store at Hazel Marsden House, will be utilised in providing discounted goods for a period of time as our new High Street store starts to trade before Christmas 2024. It’s an exciting opportunity for HospiceCare North Northumberland and we are delighted that our retail expansion programme has started with Berwick Town.”
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Image above signing the lease L-R Harry Chrisp Gibson & Co. Partner with John Cooke Trustee HospiceCare North Northumberland. Back L-R Lucy Bell Head of Income Generation, Mark Peters Retail Operations Manager, and Chris Orife CEO.
Alnwick Round Table Donates £5,000 To HospiceCare North Northumberland
27th September 2024
Members of the Alnwick Round Table presented HospiceCare with a cheque for £5,000 - the proceeds from their annual Beer Festival held in August. On presenting the cheque Alnwick Round Table said "We would just like to say once again a HUGE THANK YOU to absolutely everyone who attended Bank Holiday August weekend, whether it was to visit Alnwick Markets, Alnwick Beer Festival any of the amazing food vendors in the marketplace or passing by to see HospiceCare North Northumberland and their amazing team face painting away all weekend! Special thanks to all our event sponsors whose generous support enabled more of the profits to come directly to the Hospice." Pictured with Alnwick Round Table are Tracey Sprigg Alnwick Markets Manager and Emma Arthur Fundraising Manager, HospiceCare North Northumberland
North Northumberland Voluntary and Community Awards 2024
25th September 2024
WE WON!
Super-excited to announce we won the Commercial Business Support Award for our charity stores and our recently retired Bereavement Support volunteer, Enid, won The Lady Rose Crossman Lifetime Achievement Award at the North Northumberland Voluntary Forum Awards at Berwick Rugby Club this evening. We are absolutely buzzing! It was truly inspiring to see so many incredible individuals and organisations being recognised for their dedication and hard work in making our community a better place.
Our New Business Partnership
23rd August 2024
We are delighted to announce that HospiceCare North Northumberland is collaborating with the Alnwick Playhouse who have donated screen time to show our new short film promoting our work across the communities of North Northumberland. Our film will be shown from tomorrow (24th August 2024) at every film screening.
Appointment of a Specialist Dementia Nurse
15th August 2024
Amy (pictured) has been appointed as our new Specialist Dementia Nurse (RGN). She is passionate about promoting a good quality of life for those living with dementia and is looking forward to developing our existing dementia support services in North Northumberland.
A Visit from our New Local MP
13th August 2024
This week HospiceCare North Northumberland welcomed David Smith, Member of Parliament for North Northumberland, to our Wellbeing Centre, Alnwick.
“The Hospice Movement has played and continues to play an important – if sometimes underappreciated – role in the health and wellbeing of our society. It was for this reason that I was delighted to visit HospiceCare North Northumberland in Alnwick, and to find out more about the vital role that the team is playing in supporting people with end-of-life care right across North Northumberland.”
David Smith, Member of Parliament for North Northumberland
Our Collaboration with the Alnwick Playhouse
12th August 2024
HospiceCare North Northumberland is delighted to partner with the Alnwick Playhouse for the showing of this sensitive film about grief and loss. We’ll be there, ready to chat about our local bereavement support services, which are delivered free of charge to our local communities. For those who are currently experiencing feelings of grief and loss, we will be able to arrange for one of our Bereavement Support team to contact you directly for a confidential chat. We look forward to meeting you on the day and can promise you a very warm welcome.
Mayor of Berwick Adopts HospiceCare
29th July 2024
We are delighted to announce that HospiceCare North Northumberland has been chosen as the Berwick Mayor’s charity of the year 2024-2025
John Robertson, Mayor, said “We are delighted to be supporting HospiceCare as our chosen charity because the clinical care they are delivering in Berwick is the biggest in the region. We are proud to support this vital provision to our local community” In just the last year, HospiceCare delivered over 1,000 hours of Hospice at Home end-of-life and respite care to families in Berwick, supported 31 local clients with Bereavement Support, and delivered over 170 hours of activity to keep the person with a Dementia mobile for as long as possible.
Julie Frost, Marketing and Communications Officer for HospiceCare said “This is a wonderful honour and we are humbled to be recognised for our clinical care provision in the local community. We very much look forward to working in partnership with the Mayor over the next twelve months to help generate funds and enhance our profile across the local Berwick community. All our care is delivered free at the point of need so every penny raised, really does make a big difference.”
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As part of the Mayor’s fundraising programme for the Hospice, the Mayor and Sheriff of Berwick are delighted to welcome you to the garden of Jackie and Joe Kaine-Lang on Castlegate, for afternoon tea and a stroll through a lovely townhouse garden. The garden comprises flowering planted areas with a traditional greenhouse, water feature and vegetable and fruit bed interspersed by lawns and quirky artwork.
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There will also be plant and craft stalls and the Mayoress will be selling her hand-crafted pottery, in aid of Hospice Care. Tickets are now on sale at £5 and can be purchased online at: https://www.hospicecare-nn.org.uk/open-gardens-2024. Tickets can also be purchased on the day at the door. There is also a Music Evening at the Guildhall is being planned for March 2025 which sounds really exciting.
A New Van for HospiceCare
1st August 2024
HospiceCare is excited to announce they have received an incredibly generous donation of £27,300 from The Mark Benevolent Fund (MBF) which is the official charity of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons.
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In 2023, the Hospice applied for funding to the Mark Benevolent Fund to purchase a new Retail/Events van after their last one failed its MOT due to its age and mileage. In response, the M.B.F. Trustees agreed to support their application with a gift of £27,300 to purchase a new van. On presenting the cheque to HospiceCare Archie Torrance, President of the Mark Benevolent Fund said “We are delighted to be able to support this vital local charity. Our grant has enabled them to purchase a new van which will assist them to move equipment around the local area and move stock and donations between their charity shops. The van logo also helps enhance the company's profile in the local communities. I want to extend my grateful thanks to the support of the Mark Masters Masons’ family and friends because, without their support, none of this would have been possible.”
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Lucy Bell, Head of Income Generation for HospiceCare said “As demand for our clinical services continues to rise, unfortunately so do our costs. Although our fundraising team do an amazing job running events, and our charity shops generate around 38% of our total annual income, we still need to raise more money to meet this demand. We have ambitious plans to support future development of our retail operation with furniture sales and additional retail premises, all of which needs a large, reliable van to transport retail donations and carry exhibition equipment to our fundraising events – our new van has been a complete game-changer because it’s larger, more reliable and hopefully will last for many years to come.”​ Keep a lookout for HospiceCare’s new van as it travels across North Northumberland between its three charity shops at Amble, Berwick, and Wooler.
Pictured L-R: Paul Hilditch, Brian Hagelburg, John Park, Archie Torrance President of the MBF, Emma Arthur, Fundraising Manager HospiceCare, Raymond A. Walton Provincial Grand Master, Jeffrey Ormston, Richard Northey, Hugh Macleod.
Filming in Berwick
30th July 2024
So yesterday we were on location in and around Berwick Town and at our Wellbeing Centre, Hazel Marsden House, to film our annual family story which features a local family who received our support. The film production has been kindly sponsored by one of our local businesses. Thanks to Chris Jackson and Cameraman, Steve, for producing another powerful and inspiring story we can share with our supporters. The film will be released later in the year.
New Retail Appointment
10th July 2024
This month we welcome Mark Peters to the Hospice in his role as our new Retail Operations Manager. On his appointment Mark said: “I am proudly serving as the Retail Operations Manager at Hospice Care North Northumberland. In this pivotal position, I oversee the operations of our three physical stores as well as our eBay store. My responsibilities encompass strategic planning, inventory management, sales optimisation, and fostering a positive customer experience for our local communities and beyond. I have worked within the retail industry for the last 23 years in a number of sectors, latterly coming from the luxury goods industry as a director of a jewellery business. I’m looking forward to being able to work together with the dedicated team around me and help the charity be able to deliver more care to those most in need.”
Local Business to the Rescue
20th May 2024
This week we reached out to our local communities on Facebook to see if anyone could help tidy our patio garden at the front of Greensfield House. Almost immediately we received a call from William Purvis-inc. Alistair Turner Funeral Directors, who volunteered to help us. They sent a team to do the job the very same day! Thank you so much.
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Local Business Donates a Loan Car
17th May 2024
Huge thanks to Blackshaws for donating another fabulous loan vehicle this week for our nursing team to use when delivering our Hospice at Home care and support across North Northumberland. Blackshaws is our longest-running local business partnership which spans over 15 years. During that time the company has been heavily involved with various fundraising events for the Hospice and being a tremendous ambassador for our clinical services. Pictured: Daniel Blackshaws had the pleasure of handing over a new Suzuki Swift to HospiceCare North Northumberland
HospiceCare Appoints a New CEO
8th April 2024
The Board of Trustees is delighted to announce Chris Orife's (above) appointment as the new full-time Chief Executive of HospiceCare North Northumberland. Chris has been an integral part of HospiceCare for the past two years as the Care Manager and, more recently, as the Interim CEO. She has consistently showcased her exceptional leadership and strategic planning skills. Her extensive experience in Nursing, governance, and finance management has been instrumental in the growth and success of HospiceCare North Northumberland. Chris's unwavering commitment to HospiceCare's values and proven leadership skills will ensure that she guides the Hospice toward successful strategic outcomes in the future. Chris will take up her new position at HospiceCare on 24th June 2024.​
Annual LENS Awards
February 2024
We are delighted to share the fabulous news that Chris Jackson won 16 awards last night at the Lens Awards and picked up Silver for the Fletcher Family Story under the category ‘Best Use Of Video by a Charity’ We could not be prouder, and more grateful for Chris's support producing our family stories, helping to portray the experience emotively. The Fletcher family story was described as a "heartfelt testimonial" alongside being "authentic and moving"
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Rothbury WI
13th February 2024
HospiceCare North Northumberland is delighted to announce that Rothbury WI has adopted us as their charity of the year for 2023/2024 As part of their commitment to support the Hospice, the WI agreed to do a secret skinny dip to raise funds – which they hoped to raise at least £1,000.​ The dip was completed at Sugar Sands Beach on 5th September and has raised currently raised £4,440! Smashing the original target out of the park.
Julie Frost, HospiceCare’s Marketing & Communications Officer, said “We are delighted to have been chosen as Rothbury WI’s Charity of the Year 2023 because not only will it help generate vital funds, it will also help raise the profile of our Hospice at Home, Bereavement & Dementia Support Services to a much wider audience. Meeting Katy for the first time to discuss their latest fundraiser, I suggested they were all super brave for signing up to complete a skinny dip. I asked if getting members to agree to take part had been a difficult task?”
Katy Nickolls, Rothbury WI Secretary, added “I originally mentioned the idea of a skinny dip as a joke to members of the WI as our next fundraiser. To my surprise, several members said they thought it was a great idea and that they would do it – so the’ Secret Skinny Dip’ event was born. We are planning it very carefully with Health & Safety being a top priority but are keeping the exact date and beach location top secret, as we are a demure group of ladies after all! We will just promise to complete the challenge by the end of September this year and to post photographs as evidence (rear view only) on our website.”
Julie continues: “it doesn’t matter what size the donation, large or small, EVERY penny counts. This year HospiceCare’s running costs are expected to be around £1m. We will receive a 5% contribution from the NHS, the rest we have to find from fundraising events, donations, trusts and organisations, legacies, and our charity shops. It would mean the world to us and the families we support, to help Rothbury WI achieve, or even exceed, their target of £1,000.”
Tully's and The Narrow Nick on Rothbury High Street have both agreed to take a collection tin so people who want to pay cash can drop money in there. Or you can contact Rothbury WI directly via rothburywi@gmail.com. The members of the Rothbury WI are no strangers to fundraising for local causes. Over the last six years, they have raised over £8,000 for a variety of charities that provide services that are active in their local community. This has included Carers Northumberland, Thropton Warm Hub Lunch Club, The Coquetdale Bereavement Support Group, St Oswald’s Hospice, Northumberland Park Mountain Rescue, and the Women’s Refuge. However, the jewel in their fundraising crown has been the circa £10,000 raised for The Stephen Carey Foundation in 2014 from a ‘Vintage Rothbury’ event.
Julie & Tara complete one half marathon, two walks and a coffee morning in aid of HospiceCare raising £4384.24
8th February 2024
Julie & Tara raised an impressive £4384.24 during 2023! They have been raising money in memory of their father Douglas, who was supported by our fabulous clinical team. The sisters took part in a few of our challenge events including The Holy Island Hospice Hike and the inaugural Light up the Glendale Night up Humbleton Hill. They also hosted a coffee morning, which was a huge success with many local businesses donating raffle prizes. More than 100 guests attended the event at the Spittal Community Centre and it raised £1,910.69. Having dedicated supporters is invaluable to HospiceCare North Northumberland, and we are so proud of their fundraising efforts throughout 2023. Thank you Julie & Tara!
