Hospiscare Together Magazine Autumn 2020

Kelly’s story:
“Why I became a Hospiscare volunteer”
“People come to volunteering for all sorts of reasons.
For me it is because Hospiscare holds a special place
in my heart. Four years ago, my step-dad Malcolm
became ill and passed away from cancer. During
this time, Hospiscare provided us with profound,
unwavering support – in terms of Malcolm’s care,
and also as a family losing a loved one.
“After Malcolm passed away, I knew I wanted to
give back to Hospiscare and become a volunteer.
During the first couple of years after Malcolm’s
death, I knew I wasn’t ready, so I did what I could
in the interim – I donated to Hospiscare shops,
entered the Weekly Prize Draw, bought Hospiscare
Christmas cards and chose Hospiscare as my
Amazon Smile charity. Then, a year ago, I decided I
was ready and applied to be a volunteer.
“The initial application form on the website was
nice and simple and I suggested I might be a good
fit for communications and marketing; it has always
been a small part of my job.
“After chatting to Vicky, the Volunteering Manager,
we agreed I would volunteer with the Marketing
and Communications team once a month on a
range of projects.
“On my first day as a volunteer, I was anxious about
what I’d be doing, and of course about meeting
new people, but all of the staff are so kind and
welcoming. The Marketing and Communications
team immediately made me a coffee, grabbed me
a freshly-made cheese scone from the kitchen, and
made me feel part of the team.
“I help out with a range of tasks from admin and
research jobs to my one true love – writing. I work
in Higher Education and have been an academic
and writer for my whole professional career. The
team give me a topic for a blog post and I research
and write it; I love it when I get an email telling me
my latest post is up!
“It’s always nice to see your words in print, but
this article is particularly special as I know these
words could help someone like me, or someone
like Malcolm. Writing is a skill I take for granted,
but it is so useful to the charity. After the support
Hospiscare gave to us when Malcolm was ill, it is
humbling to be able to give something back.
“I want to end this with a thank you to the wonderful
Marketing and Communications team for making me
feel like one of their own, but also to the nurse who
supported us during Malcolm’s illness – Jane. I have
tried several times to find the words to express what
you did for us, but I just can’t (and I’m never usually
short of words). All I can say is thank you to you,
and everyone at Hospiscare, for what you do. It is a
privilege to be a part of it as a volunteer.”
An update from Hospiscare:
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our volunteers have not been able to come into the hospice to fulfil
their normal roles. This hasn’t stopped Kelly from supporting us; since March, she has been busy
making masks and headbands for our nurses and doctors. Kelly has also been involved in the launch of
our new website. We are so grateful to Kelly for her dedication during this difficult time.
12 | Because every day matters