Our meeting on Wednesday 21 February 2024 was a face to face meeting held at the Kenton Beefeater, with two speakers from St Luke’s Hospice, our local hospice service providers.
Our two speakers were Kara (left) and Nakita (right) who work as fundraisers for St Luke’s Hospice. Kara described how she had grown up in New Zealand, and worked for hospices there and in Australia before coming to England. She drew some interesting comparisons between her experiences “down under” and here. Nakita had had a background in banking before moving into the sector, but once she had started at St Luke’s she found the work much richer in experience and much more worthwhile than her first career.
St Luke’s Hospice needs to raise about £9.5 million each year in order to operate, and although there is a contribution from the National Health Service of about 30% of the operating costs, there is an enormous target for the fundraisers to achieve each year.
Kara and Nakita both stressed that terminal care – perhaps what hospices are best known for – is only one part of the work of St Luke’s Hospice. In addition there is palliative care, health education, home visits, and a support system for those that have lost a loved one.
The funds are raised each year from a wide range of activities. There are more than 15 St Luke’s Hospice Shops, selling a wide variety of goods that have been donated by the local community. Since August 2023, the process of donating has been streamlined with the new Donations Centre on the Waverley Estate in Wealdstone (HA1 4TR), near to the Harrow Crown Court building. There are also a number of special events each year including a sponsored walk (through Shropshire in 2024 between 03-07 May), a will-writing event that explains power of attorney, craft sessions, tea mornings and so much more.
This was a fascinating talk, and led to many questions from the floor. (Several members of the Club are already volunteering for St Luke’s Hospice.)
