Virtual reality appeal raises thousands for Pilgrims Hospices
Thanks to the efforts of our community of supporters, Pilgrims Hospices raised £14,874.72 for our Virtual Reality appeal.
Virtual reality (VR) is a technology accessed through a headset and headphones, which immerses someone within a 3D and 360-degree video to give them a sense of being physically present in that environment.
For example, through VR, someone could experience diving in the Great Barrier Reef or relaxing on a tropical beach.
Improving quality of life
The latest trials of virtual reality within a healthcare setting have shown an improvement in the quality of life for terminally ill patients by helping ease their anxiety, breathlessness, fatigue, and even reducing pain.
Through our Immerse Your Senses Appeal, we raised enough money to introduce a VR system at each of our hospices in Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford.
The system was used across all of our healthcare and wellbeing settings, including our Therapy Centres, in-patient units, and even in people’s homes, which benefitted a wide range of our patients.
Ann’s story
Ann Morris attended our Therapy Centre at Pilgrims Hospice Thanet, where she benefitted from the VR technology we offered for hospice patients.
What made this VR system particularly special is that it included its own camera so we could record and personalise the experiences we offered to our patients, whether that was a local place they were particularly fond of, or a special occasion they were unable to attend.
In this way, someone who was used to walking their dog along a beach but hadn’t been able to more recently, could once again experience this through virtual reality at Pilgrims.
Due to the simplicity of the system, we were even able to train our patients’ families to record and deliver these magical moments for their loved ones.
This sort of bespoke experience enabled our patients to escape the boundaries of their illness and enjoy treasured moments once again.
Thanks to the generous support of our local community, we were able to provide this incredible technology on each of our sites for two years.
Thank you!
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices give care and comfort to thousands of people in east Kent who are coming to terms with an illness that sadly cannot be cured. The charity support patients to live life as well as possible until the very end, free from pain and distress.
24th April 2020
Shirley’s story: Why I’m leaving a gift to Pilgrims in my will
Shirley Johnston has experienced first-hand the vital support provided by Pilgrims Hospices to people across east Kent. Her mum and husband both received the charity’s compassionate care at the end of their lives; Shirley decided to give back by leaving a gift to Pilgrims in her will so that other families can continue to benefit from its services in the future.
My first experience of Pilgrims was in 1985 when my mum was cared for at the Canterbury hospice. Many years later my husband, Gordon, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and had to undergo major surgery leaving him with a prognosis of 18 months. Despite this, he defied all odds by surviving another eight years! When his cancer eventually came back, I knew it was going to be painful for him so it was important for me that he received support from Pilgrims Hospices, just like my mum had.
It made such a difference, it was so important; Pilgrims became everything as it gave him a purpose and a reason to keep going.
Shirley
He attended the Pilgrims Therapy Centre in Ashford as an outpatient for over a year, getting support with his pain, breathlessness groups, and day therapy sessions. As his carer, I was offered neck and shoulder massages as part of a pamper day. It made such a difference, it was so important; Pilgrims became everything as it gave him a purpose and a reason to keep going. He used to say “I just live at half-mast these days” but would still head into the hospice to read the paper to a friend who had trouble with her sight. When he eventually came into Pilgrims in Ashford for his last few weeks it was so peaceful. As he would have wished he was surrounded by his family at the end.
As we’d spent so long coming to Pilgrims it was like being in a family and I was quite bereft without it after he’d gone. I attended a bereavement group and saw three ladies there that I’d met through the Therapy Centre when Gordon was alive. All our husbands had been patients and had died within four months of each other – so it was a real comfort for us to be able to support each other through such a difficult time. We became great friends and even now we all come back to the hospice once a month to meet up for lunch.
Leaving a gift in my will to the hospice is as important to me as it was to my husband. I could never have cared for either my husband or my mum in the way the hospice cared for them. I’m leaving a gift to the hospice to ensure that this incredible service continues to be here for future generations, for my children and grandchildren.
Shirley
After some time had passed I really wanted to fill the void of what I had lost, so I decided to volunteer as a gardener at the Ashford hospice. Every week, you will find me in the ‘wild’ garden pottering around with my friend, Sue, keeping the gardens a beautiful space for everyone to enjoy.
Gordon and I always spoke about wanting our money to be left to the hospice. When making my new will after I had spoken to my family, I split my estate six ways between my five children and Pilgrims.
Leaving a gift in my will to the hospice is as important to me as it was to my husband. I could never have cared for either my husband or my mum in the way the hospice cared for them. I’m leaving a gift to the hospice to ensure that this incredible service continues to be here for future generations, for my children and grandchildren.
By leaving a gift in your will to Pilgrims Hospices, you’ll help to ensure that each person in east Kent with an incurable illness receives the right care where and when they need it.
Please note: This story was written before the COVID-19 outbreak. For current information about all hospice services at the present time, including visiting our hospices and volunteering, please click here.
Each year Pilgrims Hospices give care and comfort to over 2,400 people in east Kent coming to terms with an illness that sadly cannot be cured. The charity supports patient’s to live life as well as possible until the very end, free from pain and distress. To offer these services charity must raise £11 million each year from the generous local community.
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.
“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 giftsinwills@pilgrimshosices.org. 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.