Staff and volunteers Archives - Page 2 of 10

Hospice Care Week 2024 shines a light on charity shops

October 8, 2024 | 4:05pm

It’s that time of year again – Hospice Care Week is upon us! This special week is all about shining a light on the incredible work being done to provide the very best end-of-life care for those who need it.

This year, the theme is Hospice Retail. Charity shops and online trading do more than just sell items—they help keep the hospice running, supporting St Ann’s mission in a vital way.

Head of Trading at St Ann’s Hospice, Ryan Perkins says it is a great privilege to oversee St Ann’s fantastic charity shops and online sales platforms.

Our charity shops are places where people from all walks of life come together, whether they’re shopping for bargains or generously volunteering their time. And each person who steps through the door makes a real difference.

Ryan Perkins, Head of Trading, St Ann’s Hospice

Hospice UK has launched a video campaign to celebrate Hospice Care Week which features one of St Ann’s Hospice’s charity shops. According to the video, a hospice charity shop would need to sell approximately 3,500 pairs of shoes to fund a palliative care nurse for a year.

A hospice charity shop would also need to sell approximately 43,000 blouses to provide a patient with a hospice bed for the year.

You can watch the full video, below.

Just one example of this is Jo Johnson’s (nee Kiely) story. Jo lost her mother, June, to cancer in 2015, and June was cared for at St Ann’s in her final days. When Jo was searching for a wedding dress earlier this year, she decided to visit St Ann’s Bridal and Vintage Shop in Stockport. She wanted her dress to be a tribute to her mum on such a special day, though she was a bit nervous at first—wedding dress shopping is something you usually do with your mum by your side.

It’s stories like Jo’s that show just how meaningful our charity shops can be—not only for the shoppers but also for those who volunteer their time to help us.

Another story involves one of our long-term volunteers, Irene, who has been working at St Ann’s Heald Green shop for almost six years. She first started volunteering to help manage her anxiety, and now she says the friendships she’s built with her fellow volunteers have changed her life.

Another volunteer at Heald Green, Valerie Wilson, joined us after she retired in 2012. After working all her life, she found it difficult to adjust to a quieter pace. But by volunteering, Valerie found a new purpose, keeping herself busy and making a difference in her community.

These stories highlight the heart of St Ann’s charity shops—not just as places to find a great deal, but as spaces that offer connection, healing, and purpose.

Jo, Irene, and Valerie’s full stories will be published on the St Ann’s Hospice website over the course of Hospice Care Week.

Hospice Care Week began on Monday, October 7th and runs until Sunday, October, 13th.

St Ann’s Hospice joins Manchester Pride festivities

September 12, 2024 | 12:29pm

This was the second year running that St Ann’s Hospice joined the Manchester Pride Parade, with staff, volunteers, family members and supporters coming together to walk as part of the St Ann’s entry on an important day for our community in Greater Manchester.

It’s important to everyone at St Ann’s that we ensure we do what we can to overcome barriers that traditionally prevent certain groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, from accessing palliative and end-of-life care.

The Manchester Pride theme this year was ‘Buzzin’ to be Queer – A Hive of Progress’, with the focal symbol being the worker bee, an iconic emblem of Manchester. Some of our walkers really ran with the theme, decked out in black and yellow antennae, wings and accessories alongside rainbow face paint and glitter.

Walkers included lots of clinical and non-clinical staff based at our Heald Green and Little Hulton hospices, staff and volunteers from our charity shops, and staff members from corporate supporters Gallaghers, who covered the cost of our banners and merch.

On our banners, t-shirts and flags was our message: “death doesn’t discriminate, neither do we.” We also gave out St Ann’s stickers, and sweets that were kindly donated by Swizzels.

Our Mascot Stann also walked with us, alongside the St Ann’s ambulance which had been decorated with hand-drawn rainbow bees and honeycomb.

Before the parade, Fran Brown, Rehab Team Leader at St Ann’s, said:

My reasons for joining the parade are helping to ensure that there are fewer barriers to all people accessing our organisation. I’m really proud of what we do here; we use the rehabilitative approach to palliative care, which enables choice and control for patients. The more people that can access our services with a positive outcome the better.
I’m also a huge fan of bees – I keep a few at home – so am excited for a bit of dress up too!

Fran Brown, Rehab Team Leader, St Ann’s Hospice

The Manchester Pride Parade marked the final Pride event of the year for St Ann’s. We also had a presence again at Stockport Pride and Salford Pride’s Pink Picnic in June.

If you have any feedback or ideas about how St Ann’s could support our communities, please get in touch on communications@sah.org.uk.

Don’t miss out on the Teddy Bear Picnic

July 10, 2024 | 5:18pm

The return of the Little Hulton Summer Fair has lots to offer for everyone and you can join the fun on Saturday 13th July 2024.

There will be a fabulous Teddy Bear Picnic as well as the Salford Mayor and Salford Red Devils players opening the fair at 12pm. The day will also include live entertainment, a local Bollywood dance group performance from 1-2pm, face painting, refreshments and food stalls, tombolas, a teddy bear stall and much more!

The fair has been kindly organised by the Little Hulton volunteer fundraising committee on behalf of St Ann’s, to help raise vital funds for their hospice to care for patients and their loved ones.

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming Summer Fair, led by a group of dedicated volunteers who successfully ran a brilliant Winter Fair in 2023. Our volunteer-led committee is bringing the community together once again and making a real difference to St Ann’s Hospice.

Imogen Priestley-Bird, Community Fundraiser, St Ann’s Hospice

Gwyneth and Mike Viney have been volunteers for St Ann’s Hospice for the last 10 years.

We have been involved with many activities to support the fundraising team, including things like bucket collections. We have enjoyed being on the committee and working with everyone who have all been very friendly, we are looking forward to the Summer Fair.

Gwyneth and Mike Viney, Volunteers, St Ann’s Hospice

The Summer Fair is taking place at the Little Hulton hospice, Meadowsweet Lane (off Peel Lane), Little Hulton, Worsley, Manchester M28 0FE. Entry to the Summer Fair is £1, with children going free. Children are encouraged to bring their teddies and there will be a special picnic area for them.

For more information about St Ann’s Hospice events including the Summer Fair, click here.

You can view the highlights from our recent Summer Fair at our Heald Green hospice on Flickr:

St Ann’s Hospice celebrates Volunteers’ Week

June 5, 2024 | 5:15pm

This Volunteers’ Week we want to shine a light on some of the brilliant volunteers that dedicate time to helping St Ann’s Hospice, and volunteer roles you could take up too.

Mark is a Volunteer Online Sales Assistant based at our Distribution Centre in Reddish.

Mark says: “I was fortunate to be able to retire early at 56 years old, but I wanted to do something that could keep me active. I also wanted to give something back to the community in some way.

“You definitely need to come into volunteering with the right end goal, which is seeing what you can do for the hospice. There is so much camaraderie and teamwork, the Distribution Centre is a great and chilled place to volunteer.

I would definitely recommend volunteering to people, particularly for St Ann’s Hospice, where there are so many roles available, you are sure to find a role which suits you.

Mark, Online Sales Volunteer

St Ann’s Trading Company have many volunteer vacancies open to people who want to support their local hospice. These include distribution centre volunteers, online volunteers, Stockport shop volunteers, and Sale shop volunteers.

Harsha has been volunteering in St Ann’s Hospice’s Fundraising Team for the last two years.

Being in the fundraising office, hearing and seeing first-hand the incredible work the team do, their sheer commitment and joy rubbed off on me. I joined the Autumn Fair committee last year and we had a great time organising the event.

Harsha, Fundraising Volunteer

Harsha is also on the Summer Fair committee for this year and she loves being part of it.

The Community Fundraising Team at St Ann’s Hospice are looking for volunteers too, including people that can help with collection tins and those wanting to be in a new fundraising committee that will be set up in Sale and Altrincham.

Margaret has been a volunteer since 2006. She was inspired to volunteer at St Ann’s after the care shown to her father by the hospice, experiencing the kindness and care shown to him and all his family.

Each year she has worked tirelessly on our Light up a Life appeal leading up to Christmas, helping to create the Book of Honour with over 1,000 dedications. Last month, she was Highly Commended in the Long Service Award at the Stockport Rocks! Volunteer Awards.

Our Clinical Team are also looking for a volunteer driver for The Being You Centre. The purpose of this volunteering role is to transport patients who have no alternative means of transport to and from The Being You Centre. The hours for this role vary between 9am-4pm on Monday to Friday.

Retired physiotherapist and post-graduate educator Jenny Caunt started volunteering at St Ann’s in May 2022.

It keeps my brain working, I get a real sense of satisfaction and feel like I am contributing to St Ann’s. What’s so nice about St Ann’s is they are looking for volunteers to use their skills and for projects that benefit the volunteer as well as the hospice. It’s really nice to carry on with something worthwhile.

Jenny Caunt, Volunteer

For more information on how you can start volunteering at St Ann’s Hospice and make a difference in your community, click here.

St Ann’s fundraising team members gain diplomas

April 3, 2024 | 11:26am

Two St Ann’s Hospice employees recently took the next step in their fundraising careers and successfully gained their Level 3 Fundraising Diplomas.

Marie Foster, Innovation and Digital Fundraiser, and Heather Bennett, In-Memory and Legacy Fundraiser, both completed the Level 3 Fundraiser Apprenticeship, which was fully funded via the Corndel Levy Pledge in partnership with Hospice UK. This is a professional development programme which uses gifted levy funds to enable learners to gain qualifications without any cost to the hospice.

The course also gave the team members a professional qualification, the Foundation Certificate in Fundraising and Foundation Certificate Qualified Membership MCIOF (FCert).

Marie has been a key member of St Ann’s Fundraising Team for over five years.

When I started the course in January 2023 it was with the aim of increasing my knowledge on all aspects of fundraising and putting my learning into practice here at the hospice to make me a better fundraiser. The bonus was gaining a professional qualification after assessment at the end of the course.

I’ve enjoyed the learning over this past year and also the opportunity to meet other UK hospice fundraisers. Although it was difficult at certain times, it was worth it to gain the qualification – and it’s always good to push yourself out of your comfort zone!

Marie Foster, Innovation and Digital Fundraiser

Heather, a former solicitor, has worked in the team for almost two years, having previously volunteered on the ward at the Little Hulton hospice.

It was so important to me to learn about the wider workings of fundraising and how we as a hospice, and I in my own role, can be there for our wonderful supporters.

Having a wider understanding of the importance of fundraising for charitable organisations means I can in turn be a better fundraiser for our supporters. Whilst at times the course was challenging, I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to learn more about the charitable sector.

Heather Bennett, In-Memory and Legacy Fundraiser

Everyone at St Ann’s would like to congratulate Heather and Marie on their commitment and achievements.

“The hospice doesn’t close at Christmas”

December 21, 2023 | 5:38pm

Our Christmas appeal raises vital funds to support the patients and families that need us on Christmas Day.

Tia is a Staff Nurse in the Inpatient Unit at our Heald Green hospice. She has put herself forward to work on Christmas Day this year.

“I worked the late shift on Christmas Day in my first year at St Ann’s. The hospice doesn’t close at Christmas – our patients and their loved ones still need us, so we come to work and carry out our duties like any other day.”

Fundraising is essential to the running of the hospice. Without your support we would not be able to keep our doors open, as only around one third of their income comes from the NHS.

Your donation, no matter how big or small, is invaluable to St Ann’s and the families that Tia will care for this Christmas.

It’s not just about the patients but about making it special for their families and visitors coming into the hospice on Christmas Day. It could be their last Christmas together – we want to do everything we can to ensure they have special moments and make lasting memories together.

Tia, Staff Nurse

Just £20 could help to stock the drinks trolley so that patients and families could enjoy a hot drink or festive tipple together this Christmas Day. £30 could pay for a counselling session for someone who has been bereaved and struggling with their first Christmas since losing their loved one.

This Christmas, please donate anything you can to help St Ann’s. It would mean so much to the patients and families who rely on us and would be lost without us this Christmas.

Your donation makes a difference. To donate today please call St Ann’s Hospice on 0161 498 3631 or click here.

Our staff raise £8,564 hiking the Camino de Santiago trek together

December 5, 2023 | 4:19pm

The pair had originally planned to take on Kilimanjaro, but this was in 2019 just before the pandemic, so even though they had done all their fundraising, the trip was cancelled.

At this time they were doing the challenge with a group, but after the pandemic just the two of them were left so decided to take on the Camino instead.

The Camino is a historic pilgrimage route in Spain, covering the final 67km of the famous Camino Frances – the French Way.

Lisa, Donna and the previous Events Fundraiser Sam O’Reilly raised a combined total of £8,564 for St Ann’s Hospice.

It was a great challenge to be part of a very, very hot but a great experience. We are proud to do it for St Ann’s Hospice and would highly recommend it to anyone who wanted to give it a go.

Lisa Corbett, Patient and Family Support Team

“We enjoyed seeing so many people on the trek, but it never felt overcrowded or too busy which was nice. We both like walking so it seemed like a great challenge to take on, with lots of comradery on the route too.”

Donna says: “During the time we fundraised we both gained a new understanding for just how much dedication is given from the fundraising team every single day to raise money, it takes so much effort, especially when times are hard.

“Wherever we were fundraising, either at fairs, packing bags in supermarkets or doing raffles, so many people recognised St Ann’s Hospice and had such lovely comments about it.

“We are both so proud to have raised money for our hospice, and it was great to hear so many other people taking on The Camino for hospices near them too.”

Celebrating International Volunteers Day with Beth

December 5, 2023 | 2:50pm

I start work at 10am and it’s always lovely to be welcomed so warmly by Esme, the Shop Manager, and Duck, (David), who also works Wednesdays.

Jackie is also often in on a Wednesday and it’s so nice to see familiar faces.

When your life revolves around being at home with your kids, it gives an extra sense of belonging. It’s not a stuffy, serious vibe at work, it’s very much a friendship feel, with good banter and a chance to get to know each other.

This means the team can feel like your support system, when you’re waffling about the trials and tribulations of life, or parenting! It also extends your friendship circle when you bump into them whilst out!

One of my main duties now includes working on Facebook. I check with Esme which section she wants me to concentrate on that day, e.g. Ladies, Men’s, Kids, Christmas etc, and I take lots of pictures of things that I think will sell well. I then upload them to the St Ann’s Romiley Facebook page, along with details of all the ways people can get in touch with us and details of any special offers on that day.

Once uploaded, I then share the post to many different Facebook groups around the Stockport area. Once that’s done, I reply to any messages that come through, checking the size of an item, or price, or asking us to hold an item for up to 48 hours.

As well as Facebook duties, I also work on the till., putting purchases through or printing out labels for donations received. I also encourage customers to sign up to Gift Aid.

When customers come into the shop with bags of donations, I take them through to the back so that they can be sorted. I’m a very social, outgoing person, so I love interacting with the customers and will always greet them as they enter and leave the shop.

I’m more than happy to chat with them if they look like they’d appreciate that!

I love knowing that whilst I get a lot out of volunteering, it’s also for a bigger cause and a bigger picture.

Beth Crowcroft, Volunteer Shop Assistant

I finish work at 12pm, having packed lots into the two hours I’m there. Over the course of the five years I’ve been at Romiley St Ann’s shop, the amount of time spent volunteering weekly has varied. I initially did one morning a week and then built it up to two mornings a week.

Due to home circumstances, I then needed to go back down to one morning a week. I love the flexibility that comes with volunteering here.

Here’s to many more years volunteering at Romiley St Ann’s shop, as it really is such a welcoming, friendly place!

Theme: Staff and volunteers