What does faith mean to you? – Inter Faith Week 2025
At Pilgrims Hospices, we care for people of all faiths and none, and Inter Faith Week gives us a wonderful opportunity to pause and celebrate the many ways faith can enrich our lives.
Rev’d Cat Darkins, Lead Spiritual Care Chaplain, shares how Pilgrims Hospices accommodates cultural beliefs around death and dying
Faith means different things to each of us. For some, it is rooted in prayer, ritual, or tradition; for others, it shines through in hope, kindness, or a deep belief in community. However we understand it, faith can lift us up, give us strength, and bring comfort during life’s most important moments.
Every day in our hospices, we see how faith helps people find peace and connection – in quiet reflection, in the gentle support of our Spiritual Care Chaplains, in the beauty of a garden, or simply in the love of family and friends.
“Faith can be a source of strength and comfort, whatever form it takes – whether through a religious practice, a sense of community, or the values we carry in our hearts.“
–Rev’d Cat Darkins, Lead Spiritual Care Chaplain at Pilgrims Hospices
Inter Faith Week reminds us that, though our beliefs may be different, the values at their heart often unite us: love, dignity, compassion, and care for one another.
Together, we can celebrate this shared humanity and the many ways faith, in all its forms, brings light and meaning to our world.
Faith, in every form, is a reminder of the goodness we share.
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Pilgrims Hospices staff share what faith means to them
Visitpilgrimshospices.org/cultureto discover how people across the world respond to and mark death and dying within different cultures.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.
6th November 2025
Alexa melts our hearts with her incredible achievement that began in 2024
Alexa Bolger from Westgate-on-Sea has been raising funds for Pilgrims Hospices after loved ones and family friends received the charity’s kind and caring support.
Alexa with her fundraising certificate
During the school summer holidays, Alexa’s grandma, Betty (“Gan Gan”), gave her £10 pocket money, which she used to buy clay beads to make colourful bracelets. Alexa set up a little stall outside her home and sold her creations, raising an amazing £218 for Pilgrims in just five days – thanks to the kindness of passersby, neighbours and family who all stopped to support her.
Now, we’re thrilled to share that Alexa has gone even further and smashed her fundraising target of £1,000, reaching an incredible total of £1,001 for Pilgrims Hospices!
Alexa said:
“I want to help people who are poorly and need Pilgrims’ care so they can be a little bit happier in the time they have left. I hope my fundraising helps to buy medicine for them and the care they need.”
Karen Kenward, Community Fundraising Manager, added:
“Alexa came to see us in August 2024 with a donation of £218 from her bracelet sales, which she raised by asking family, friends and neighbours for small donations to support our hospice services. Since then, she has taken her idea to school and continued to raise funds, including selling bracelets at last year’s Thanet 5k Colour Run, where she raised an additional £150 on the day.
“On 30 October 2025, I was absolutely delighted to announce that Alexa had reached her goal – and even gone past it!
“Alexa truly is a little superstar. To be just nine years old and so passionate about helping others is wonderful to see. Everyone at Pilgrims – along with her mum, Clare, her family, friends, and even her neighbours who’ve supported her every step of the way – are so proud of her amazing achievement.
“Thank you, Alexa, for my handmade Christmas cracker and charm – they were so thoughtful and will take pride of place on my Christmas tree this year! You always bring a smile to my face and melt my heart every time I see you.”
If you’ve been inspired by Alexa and would like to fundraise for Pilgrims in the Thanet area, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact Karen Kenward, Community Fundraising Manager:
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, providing services from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in people’s own homes.
5th November 2025
Dover Festival Prom Concert Committee presents Pilgrims Hospices with £2,600
The Dover Festival Prom Concert Committee has proudly presented Pilgrims Hospices with a cheque for £2,600, following the success of this year’s uplifting “Last Night of the Proms”-style concert, held in July at the historic Maison Dieu (Dover Town Hall) in Dover.
The presentation took place in Connaught Hall at the Maison Dieu, marking another milestone in the concert’s long tradition of supporting local causes.
The funds were raised as part of a special collaboration with the Maison Dieu through the National Lottery-funded Reawakening the Maison Dieu project. The concert brought together talented singers, musicians, and a supportive audience for an evening of rousing music and community spirit – all in aid of helping local people who are living with a life-limiting illness.
Michael Lewis, Joint Musical Director of the Dover Festival Prom, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the committee:
“We’re so thankful to everyone who came along and supported the concert. It’s always inspiring to see the community come together for such a worthy cause. We owe a huge thanks to our incredible musicians, singers, and everyone who helped make the evening such a success.”
Accepting the cheque on behalf of Pilgrims Hospices, Karen Kenward, Community Fundraising Manager, said:
“We are overwhelmed by this most generous donation and would like to thank the Dover Prom group, and all their incredible followers, for their continued support of our charity. This gift will help us continue providing vital care to patients and families across east Kent. We really couldn’t provide our services without the kindness and generosity of our community – thank you all so very much.”
Founded in 1988 by Michael Foad, the Dover Festival Prom Concert has raised thousands of pounds for local charities and good causes over the years.
Each annual concert celebrates community, music, and generosity.
Next year’s event, themed “Water and the Sea”, will take place on Friday 3 July 2026.
Pilgrims Hospices is east Kent’s largest hospice charity, caring for thousands of people each year through its sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, and within the community in people’s own homes. The charity relies heavily on the generous support of local people and groups like the Dover Festival Prom Committee.
3rd November 2025
Trustees Week 2025: Celebrating the contribution of Pilgrims Hospices volunteer board members
As part of Trustees’ Week, Pilgrims Hospices is celebrating the contribution of its volunteer board members who help guide and strengthen the charity’s work across east Kent.
Simon Perks, who retired from Pilgrims Hospices Board of Trustees at the end of September 2025 after 11 years of service, reflects on his time with Pilgrims, sharing personal insights about the challenges and achievements that have shaped both his journey and the hospice’s.
What inspired you to become a trustee of Pilgrims Hospices?
It was not so much that I was inspired; rather, another trustee asked me if I would join – these were the days before applications and interviews (I hasten to add that the introduction of these is a very good thing!). I was in full-time work and don’t feel, regrettably, that I was able to give the time to being a trustee that was really needed. This probably says more about my time management than anything else. While I hope my input was of some benefit during that time, in the five years I have been retired it has been a real joy to be able to get more involved.
Simon with his sister, Juliet, at Pilgrims Hospices Cycle Challenge 2024
How has your perspective of hospice care evolved during your time as a trustee?
Having spent my working life in the NHS, I am ashamed to admit that I now realise how little I knew about hospice care, and specifically the importance of hospices being independent of the NHS. That independence, although sometimes financially challenging, gives the hospice a creativity and flexibility that I had not anticipated. Its charitable status also fosters a commitment from staff and a connection with the community that it serves that should always be cherished.
Is there a particular moment or achievement that stands out for you during your time as a trustee?
Not specifically, but there are two changes that I have observed that I believe are important. The first is the way the running of the hospice is organised. This may sound rather dry and managerial, but the way the hospice runs its affairs has been considerably strengthened in recent years. The benefits are clear; for example, the hospice is in a much stronger financial position (despite all the pressures that everyone is facing) than it has been for many years.
Further, the hospice has built on its scope and expertise to develop innovative care programmes such as Think, Talk, Act that directly address long-standing unmet needs of both patients and their families.
What will you miss most about being involved with the hospices?
Working in the NHS, I literally met thousands of doctors, nurses and support staff of all kinds over the years. The dedication, commitment, resourcefulness, creativity and compassion that I have consistently witnessed among Pilgrims staff is quite exceptional. I only regret not having been involved in more ‘Board Walks’ over the years; I always met inspirational people doing wonderful things in their daily work.
What advice would you give to hospice leaders and trustees about navigating future changes in the sector?
I have always believed that the patients, families and friends that Pilgrims care for, and support, are best served by the hospice working really closely with other care organisations and partners. This includes not only local NHS and social services, but also other hospices in Kent.
The hospice’s services will have their widest impact if Pilgrims is clearly a key partner with every agency involved in a person’s end-of-life care. Also, we have knowledge and expertise that others can learn from, and we should be able to share this as widely as possible. Much has been achieved in meeting these aims, and I am sure they remain key to successfully navigating future changes.
If you could change one thing about the way hospices are supported or funded, what would it be?
The fact that so much of the hospice’s work is funded by the generosity of the people of east Kent, whom Pilgrims serves, is a vital part of what makes Pilgrims so important to the community. Having said this, we have tried to increase the money Pilgrims receives from the NHS for the services it provides, and I hope that funding will increase in the future.
What message would you like to leave for trustees, staff, volunteers, and supporters of the hospice?
I know in the thick of the daily work routine, whether you work in an office, on the wards or in people’s homes, it can sometimes feel tough. But what I hope every single person working with Pilgrims – whether paid staff, volunteer, or even trustee – can always hold onto is that they are making a difference every single day and what they do really matters. I know this because, as many of us will have experienced, I talk to neighbours and friends whose lives have been touched by the work of Pilgrims Hospices.
And finally, you have been an active supporter of our challenge events. Will we still see you at future events?
Definitely. My wife Gill and I have already signed up for the Santa run; this will be our third time, and I hope I don’t lose my Santa trousers halfway round as I have before! We also both took part in the annual Cycle Challenge in May this year, completing 50 miles; we’re hoping to do the 75-mile route in 2026.
These are excellent events, so well organised, really sociable and a great way to support Pilgrims.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.
