Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice Thanks Volunteers with a Week of Celebrations
June 2, 2010
Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice has been honouring the work of its much-valued voluntary staff as part of National Volunteers Week, which runs from June 1 to 7.
A series of activities is being staged at the Hospice throughout the week to acknowledge the wonderful contributions its 345 volunteers make by donating their time, energy and skills to help others.
The Hospice, which provides vital palliative care to people with life-limiting illnesses across Birmingham and Sandwell, has been festooned with bunting, as well as red and silver balloons matching the Volunteers Week official colours.
At Birmingham St Mary’s, volunteers perform a variety of vital roles such as staffing the shops, writing bereavement cards, serving food and delivering complementary therapy to name but a few.
A number of special morning and afternoon ‘Thank you’ teas, supper meetings and certificate presentations have also been put on in celebration of these unsung heroes of Birmingham St Mary’s.
Fittingly, this year’s Volunteers Week coincides with the creation of a new set of bereavement cards designed by patients at the one of Hospice volunteers’ art clubs. The designs are currently being printed and the first batch of cards is expected to arrive at the Hospice soon.
The art work created by Day Hospice patients Kate Holmes and Chris Maher in volunteer Roger Dealaselle’s art classes is being printed on bereavement cards sent out to relatives of Birmingham St Mary’s patients who have passed away.
The soothing landscapes set just the right tone for bereavement cards, depicting a lavender field and bluebell woods scenes.
Kate created the lavender field picture from her mind using both pastels and water colours, while Chris painted the bluebells in water colours using a photograph taken by Roger for reference.
Roger began volunteering at Birmingham St Mary’s more than 11 years ago when he retired as an engineer with British Telecom.
“I had always been interested in art but never pursued it due to work commitments. But when I retired I decided that I would give it a go. Not long after, I was asked if I would like to volunteer at the Hospice and start an art group, which has grown and developed to what it is today,” Roger said.
The card designs were chosen from a group of paintings created by Day Hospice patients by Margaret Niblett, who has volunteered at the Hospice for 10 years.
Margaret performs several volunteer roles at Birmingham St Mary’s, helping out in the Weoley Castle shop, the Catering department and in the Bereavement service writing personal messages in the Hospice bereavement cards.
She said: “The standard of work being produced in Roger’s art class is superb, so it was very difficult for me to choose the designs. But nonetheless it is very exciting to be involved with such a project and goes to show the kinds of wonderful opportunities volunteering throws up.”
Kate Holmes said she was delighted that her art work was being used on the cards. “I never expected that my paintings would be used in this way. I am very happy that we are able to make a contribution.”
Chris Maher added: “Roger’s classes are brilliant and I really look forward to taking part each week. He really is a great example of what volunteers can achieve.”
Voluntary Services Manager Sharon Harkin thanked everyone who gave up their spare time to help the Hospice.
She said: “Many people choose to help Birmingham St Mary’s through fundraising, but we also benefit from the loyal support we get from volunteers. They perform a wide variety of roles from administration, driving and gardening, to running therapeutic sessions such as Roger’s art class or manning reception or the tills in our shops.”
Sharon added: “Volunteers Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the wonderful spirit of volunteering that contributes so much to the Hospice and the service we deliver. Quite simply our volunteers are marvellous and essential to everything we do.”
Volunteers' Week is an initiative of the volunteer development agencies working across the UK: Volunteering England, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Volunteer Now and Volunteer Development Scotland.
The annual event celebrates the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK, and plays a huge part in raising the profile of the millions of volunteers who regularly contribute to society, while inspiring others to get involved too.
Since its launch in 1979, Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice has cared for tens of thousands of people with life-limiting illnesses.
And with more than 50 percent of the Hospice’s budget reliant on public goodwill, community fundraising is crucial to ensuring its highly specialised services can continue to be offered to the people of Birmingham and Sandwell.
In addition to a 25-bed Inpatient unit, Birmingham St Mary’s boasts a 20-place Day Hospice and provides community care to people who wish to stay in their own homes.
The Hospice, whose running costs stand at £6.3 million a year, also supports relatives with bereavement preparation, physiotherapy tuition and counselling in addition to many other services.
Its nurses, often referred to by patients and relatives as ‘angels’, are renowned for going that extra mile to ensure people with terminal illnesses enjoy the best possible quality of life.
For more information about Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice go to: www.bsmh.org.uk, or telephone 0121 4721191.
Pic caption: Volunteer art club tutor Roger Dealaselle with Day Hospice patients Chris Maher (left) and Kate Holmes2
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