This year marks a milestone anniversary for St Elizabeth Hospice.
And today the much-loved charity launches its 2014 25th anniversary campaign by asking supporters to do something extraordinary and Sponsor a Nurse.
The hospice’s nursing teams cared for around 2,000 patients from East Suffolk and South Norfolk in the last year – and since it opened in 1989, almost 20,000 people have been supported.
This has only been possible because of donations and fundraising by the local community – which make up the majority of the hospice’s running costs.
Senior nurse Alison Greene said: “Our free local hospice care is always available for those who need it.
“Our team of nurses provide specialist help 24 hours a day, seven days a week whether it is needed at home, in the community, over the phone or at the hospice.
“Every day we try and make a difference; helping people overcome their pain, providing a listening ear or a hand to hold.
“So that we can continue to care we are asking you to Sponsor a Nurse like me, please do something extraordinary today and help us to be there for more local people in the years to come.”
The charity is encouraging donations from individuals, companies and groups using the form in Monday’s Ipswich Star or online or you can give £5 by texting NURSE to 70500 to help pay for a nurse to give specialist care to local people throughout 2014.
Sue Evans, of Charsfield, near Woodbridge, said: “When the last hours of my husband Roy’s life were approaching, he was moved to a single room at the hospice which enabled my family to have the privacy we wanted in those precious final hours.
“The level of help, support and comfort that Alison Greene and the other nurses gave us was just perfect.
“Nothing was too much trouble but on the other hand they were not in any way intrusive and we felt they respected our needs fully.”
Sponsor a Nurse is supported by the Ipswich Star and the East Anglian Daily Times. For more information call 01473 723600 or visit www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk/25.
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