School Diner transforms into pop-up restaurant for Pilgrims
Twenty students from Archbishop’s School in Canterbury donned chef whites and opened up Restaurant 58 in their school canteen in aid of local charity, Pilgrims Hospices. Supported by School Diners, a project created by celebrity chef Mark Lloyd, the aim is to engage students with a positive experience of school.
For the last five weeks, the year 10 and year 11 pupils have been busy planning the pop-up restaurant deciding the name, colour scheme, advertising the event and contacting local businesses to donate raffle prizes and stock donations.
Year 11 student, Will G said: “This project has helped me build my confidence and leadership skills which will be great for my CV!
“It’s been challenging but we have had a great time working together and creating Restaurant 58.”
The sold-out event on Saturday 25 January welcomed 112 guests to Archbishop’s School who were served a three-course meal including butternut squash risotto and a super food salad by the KS4 PXL Build Up Group students.
This project has helped me build my confidence and leadership skills which will be great for my CV!
Will, Archbishop’s School student
With no set prices, guests were asked to pay what they thought the meal was worth, helping to raise £2,170!
Leila Ilkhan, Pilgrims Canterbury Community Fundraising Manager said: “It was lovely to see what the students had accomplished in just five weeks through School Diners. Their hard work and enthusiasm will make a big difference enabling Pilgrims to be there for those patients who need us, when they need us most.”
If you have been inspired by the students at Archbishop’s School and would like to organise your own fundraising event, please contact Pilgrims Hospices team by emailing [email protected].
Care is provided from three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet as well as in patients’ own homes. To offer these services to patients and their families the charity must raise £11 million each year from the generous local community.
Tenterden Lions roar with pride
Tenterden Lions Club presented a magnificent £2,500 cheque to Pilgrims Hospice Ashford last week. The Lions raised this amazing total with their much-loved Christmas float collections around Tenterden and surrounding villages.
The local club has supported Pilgrims Hospices over a number of years; like many people in the community, the club members appreciate the valuable service Pilgrims provide and the loving care given to their former Treasurer Lion, Reg Gray in 2015.
We wish to say a huge thank you to Tenterden Lions Club, they are truly helping us to make a difference to patients and their families who need our care.
Louise Newman, Pilgrims Hospices
Louise Newman, Pilgrims Ashford Community Fundraising Manager said: “We wish to say a huge thank you to Tenterden Lions Club, they are truly helping us to make a difference to patients and their families who need our care.”
Tenterden Lions Club was founded in 1957 and has been serving the local community for the past 60+ years in a variety of ways such as, planting bulbs every Autumn which come up in the High Street, Oaks Road, and St Michaels, organising an annual primary schools choir competition, and undertaking major fundraising projects such as the annual classic car show/dog show and the Christmas collections. This enables the club to support numerous local charitable causes including Pilgrims Hospices.
Pilgrims Hospices cares for more than 2,400 local people each year, free of charge, during the most challenging time in their lives. They offer care and support in people’s own homes, in the community and in their inpatient units as well as running a 24-hour advice line.
24th January 2020
Solicitors offer their time and expertise to support local hospice charity
Solicitor firms across east Kent this February are kindly donating their time and expertise to write Wills completely free of charge, in return for a donation to Pilgrims Hospices.
All money raised through the scheme will be donated to Pilgrims, in order that we can continue to be there for the families who need us now and in the future. Last year, Make a Will Month raised more than £23,250; enough to fund over 930 hours of nursing care for people facing a terminal diagnosis and their families.
Sara Scriven, Individual Giving Manager at Pilgrims Hospices said: “We are incredibly grateful to the solicitors who are generously giving up their time to take part in this scheme.
“2020 will be our seventh year of running Make a Will Month in east Kent and, over that time it has raised enough to fund a palliative specialist nurse at the hospice for over three years!
“Almost everyone in our local community knows someone who has, or could have, benefited from the excellent work of our specialist medical staff.
“If you need to make or update your Will, there really is no better way to do it, knowing that you’ll be making a huge difference to the lives of so many people who need our care in the most difficult of times.”
We are incredibly grateful to the solicitors who are generously giving up their time to take part in this scheme.
You can click here to find the participating solicitors’ details.
Paula Patton, Solicitor at Robinson Allfree said: “As we are based in east Kent, Robinson Allfree were delighted to be contacted by Pilgrims Hospices with a view to taking part in Make A Will Month 2020 due to the wonderful support offered by Pilgrims in our locality.
Paula Patton, Robinson Allfree Solicitors
“Since taking part in the campaign last year, we have learnt that not only do Pilgrims provide dignified care for patients at the end of their life, but, in fact, they aim to support patients and their families at early stages of diagnosis of an incurable illness including providing counselling and spiritual teams for patients and their families who wish to talk through any worries and fears that they have.
“Many clients have told us that the support they received from Pilgrims enabled their relative or friend to have some enjoyment in the final weeks of their life and to have a dignified death in homely surroundings. This is of course a comfort for family, friends and carers, many of whom try to stay involved with Pilgrims whether through taking up the continued support offered or themselves offering to volunteer or donating to Pilgrims shops. It is our pleasure to be part of Make A Will Month 2020 and to offer as much support to the charity as we can.”
If you would like more information about leaving Pilgrims a gift in your Will, please call 01227 782 062 or email [email protected]. There is no obligation to include a gift in your Will to Pilgrims as part of Make a Will Month 2020.
Care is provided from three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet as well as in patients’ own homes. To offer these services to patients and their families the charity must raise £11 million each year from the generous local community.
23rd January 2020
Sarah’s seaside half marathon for Pilgrims
Sarah Stirrup from Whitstable will run the Brighton Half Marathon in aid of Pilgrims Hospices on Sunday 23 February 2020. As a Research Nurse for the charity, she understands how vital fundraising is to keep local hospice services available to those in need.
Although not always a natural runner, Sarah has grown to love it and is now a member of the Speedy Pluckers running club. She said: “When I started the ‘park bench to parkrun’ challenge 18 months ago (crying at the top of the second hill for the first three weeks!) my aim was to be able to walk or run 5k at Whitstable parkrun every week. Little did I know that I’d go on to not only love parkrun and join my local running club, but also enter a half marathon. Oh, and become known as ‘Speedy Barbara’ (of course, the joke is that I am still very slow!)”.
My mantra has become ‘seize the day’ so that I make the most of my own life. When I run, I hold in my heart all the people I’ve known who are not here to run with me.
Sarah
As well as generating vital funds for Pilgrims, Sarah feels strongly about raising awareness of the compassionate care it provides to local people.
She continued: “As a nurse, I’ve known lots of people cared for by Pilgrims. The charity does so much, and not just at the very end of a person’s life. It looks after families, helps people to manage their symptoms and offers support through its Therapy Centres, physiotherapy, counselling and so many other essential services.
“Pilgrims is also at the forefront of palliative care research. Research into how we look after our patients and provide symptom control is really important, ensuring the care they receive is evidence-based.”
Leila Ilkhan, Community Fundraising Manager, said: “We really appreciate supporters like Sarah who take on charity challenges to raise vital funds for Pilgrims. It is because of their commitment and effort to training and fundraising that we can be there for patients and families who need us, for as long as they need us.”
Sarah is being supported in her fundraising by family and friends, including her partner Tony and two children Magda and Nat. She added: “As a charity, Pilgrims receives most of its income from fundraising, so it’s important that we all do what we can. I play the hospice Lottery too, though I haven’t won yet! There are so many opportunities to get involved and raise money or volunteer.
“As well as raising funds towards Pilgrims’ vital work, I’d like to gain more exposure for the work we do here. Pilgrims supports people with a life-limiting illness to live the best life they can in the time they have left. I think we can all learn from that. My mantra has become ‘seize the day’ so that I make the most of my own life. When I run, I hold in my heart all the people I’ve known who are not here to run with me.
“I’d love it if I inspired others to take on a challenging event and change their lives – if I can do it, anyone can!”
If you or someone you know is coping with a life limiting illness and you think you may benefit from Pilgrims free services, talk to your GP or Healthcare Professional about your options or click here to read about our Wellbeing Programme.
22nd January 2020
Hospice staff hot-foot it for Pilgrims Hospices Firewalk
Staff at Pilgrims Hospices will join members of the public in braving a barefoot walk across red-hot wood embers for the local charity at its firewalking event on Saturday 14 March 2020 within the grounds of the Ashford hospice.
The team know first-hand how much the organisation relies on community fundraising in order to care for thousands of people across east Kent each year who are living with an incurable illness. Led by Healthcare Assistant Polly Parrott, they have decided to go above and beyond their daily duties to further support the charity they hold so dear to their hearts.
Polly said: “My mum and three brothers all died from cancer. Sadly, they didn’t have the opportunity to experience hospice care.
“Pilgrims’ care is exceptional. It’s an amazing place to work; we offer a safe, clean and peaceful environment. It is a privilege to care for people at the end of their life and to offer support to their families, too.”
I really appreciate how dependent Pilgrims is on fundraising. I’d like to think that if I ever needed this care myself it would be here for me. That’s why I want to give back by facing the Firewalk, so that these services continue to be available.
Polly
Polly and her colleagues are looking forward to taking on their Firewalk challenge. She added: “I’ve hesitated over signing up for several years. I usually get “cold feet” and regret not taking part, so this year I’m definitely doing it. Watch out, here I come!
“I really appreciate how dependent Pilgrims is on fundraising. I’d like to think that if I ever needed this care myself it would be here for me. That’s why I want to give back by facing the Firewalk, so that these services continue to be available for those in need.”
This year’s firewalkers will join a ‘Hall of Flame’ alongside more than 660 people who have faced the flames for Pilgrims Hospices since the event began in 2016, raising over £170,000.
Could you face the flames and achieve the impossible?
Pilgrims Hospices Firewalk returns to Canterbury and Ashford in March 2020.
Right now, early bird entry for ‘the hottest, shortest sponsored walk in the world’ is just £17. But hurry, places are limited and selling out fast, so sign up today to avoid disappointment: www.pilgrimshospices.org/firewalk
Entry includes training seminar, firewalking experience and certificate.
If you or someone you know is coping with a life limiting illness and you think you may benefit from Pilgrims free services, talk to your GP or Healthcare Professional about your options or click here to read about our Wellbeing Programme.
20th January 2020
Christmas tree recycling campaign is a record breaker
Pilgrims Hospices Christmas Tree Recycling campaign has broken records this year with a staggering 1,350 trees being collected over Ashford and Tenterden on 11 January 2020.
For the eighth year running, the generous residents of the Ashford Borough from Wye to Wittersham, Willesborough to Woodchurch, donated money in return for their Christmas trees to be collected and recycled by Pilgrims Hospices.
A team of over 90 dedicated volunteers and colleagues from local businesses collected the trees on Saturday 11 January. The campaign will raise more than£21,000 for hospice care in east Kent.
The scheme received tremendous amounts of community support with several local businesses gifting their time and vans to help collect the trees. Local businesses lending a hand included vans and crews from Givaudan, Menzies, Medash Signs Ltd, Practical Van Hire Ashford, Waitrose, Countrystyle Recycling Ltd, Earles Landscapes, Select Plant Hire, Ace Transport, Dave Lowe, Bilsington Priory, Bill Cordes and Pilgrims Hospices retail team.
We simply could not run the campaign without the many volunteers lending their time.
Louise Newman, Pilgrims Hospices
A total of 29 vans were out in force around the area collecting the trees of all shapes and sizes, which were taken to Ashford Household Waste Recycling Centre in Cobbs Wood for recycling.
Louise Newman, Pilgrims Hospices Community Fundraising Manager said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who registered their tree for collection, each and every donation makes a difference to the £11 million we have to fundraise every year in order to keep our services running.
“We simply could not run the campaign without the many volunteers lending their time, vans, or facilities, including the staff at the Ashford Recycling Centre and Ashford Vineyard who help us with this campaign. We thank each and every one of those involved. Our headline sponsor, Ashford Borough Council, has also gone above and beyond to help support the campaign, for which we are very grateful.
We are all absolutely thrilled to have broken previous records again this year.
Louise Newman, Pilgrims Hospices
“We are all absolutely thrilled to have broken previous records again this year, but as the numbers continue to grow we will need even more crews to help. If you can help in 2021 or know someone who would like to get involved in the scheme, we would love to hear from you in the coming few weeks. Or, if you are a business and would like to sponsor the event, we’d also love to hear from you. Simply email [email protected].”
This year alone, Pilgrims Hospices has to raise £11 million through voluntary donations in order to run our full range of services. Sponsorship raised through events like these helps us to continue caring for local people at the end of their lives.
