Staff at East Cheshire Hospice are celebrating a wonderful £25,000 gift received this week from a generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous. The gift is to go towards the hospice’s plans to refurbish its Day Care Centre and build a new Out-patient Unit which was announced in April.
“Several years ago we recognised that the Day Care Centre was becoming unfit for purpose and this is now clearly the case,” said Phil Robertshaw, Fundraising & Communications Manager. “It is very cramped indeed and this limits the numbers of patients who can be seen, as well as our ability to treat them in privacy and with dignity.
“The kind-hearted donor is a long-standing friend of the hospice and has helped us significantly in the past. When we wrote recently informing them of the problem and our plans for the future, they very quickly responded with this marvellous gift to help make sure we could achieve our dream. They give their support only because they know just what a difference their gift will make and therefore wish to remain anonymous. We are all so very grateful.”
Building work is set to commence during July and finish in the early part of 2011. When complete, the new facilities will feature a fully equipped physiotherapy/rehabilitation gym, additional rooms for a range of therapies, a private consultation room, a quiet/counselling room, a separate activities area, a bright and cheery dining room and a new garden area for patients to enjoy.
The total cost of the building work is £1.5 million. The hospice has already received a grant of £550,000 from the Department of Health and restricted legacy gifts of £150,000 towards the cost. In order to secure the outstanding amount, the hospice has been contacting and writing to grant-making bodies throughout the country with details of the development. This very generous gift of £25,000 is by far the largest received to date.
“Our building is clearly working against us and this urgently needs to be addressed,” said Phil. “A building can only do so much however and the hospice still needs to raise nearly £6,000 each and every day just to keep going. As we look to an uncertain economic future, therefore, we do hope all our friends will still keep the hospice in mind and continue to help whenever they can.”
To find out how you can help, email Phil Robertshaw or phone 01625 433477.
