Clare’s Story

My connection to the Hospice started in November 2013 when my Dad stayed there for a few weeks. He had been ill for several months and considered too weak to begin chemotherapy. The plan was to build his strength up and then maybe he could come home and start to have treatment. I visited him during his stay and was surprised to find the Hospice to be such a happy and welcoming place. The team were amazing and I will never forget the delicious cake in the day room either!

Sadly, Dad passed away at home on 28th November that year but I am certain that his stay in the Hospice gave him more time with us, for which I am forever grateful.

Over the next few years, my family attended the regular Hospice events with the Sunflower Service and Light Up a Life being particular favourites. In 2014, my brother and sister and I walked a marathon for Cancer Research and one of our training walks was the Moonlight Walk for the Hospice, this was the first Hospice event I’d taken part in.

In 2015 with a new love of walking and a desire to raise more funds, I registered for the Thames Path Challenge 50km walk to raise money for the Hospice.

It took me 10 hours and 51 minutes to walk from Fulham to Runnymede on that Saturday in September. It was really tough but such a fun day, I’m not sure I’d do it again but I’d recommend it as a challenge if you like walking.

Before we knew it, 2016 rolled around.

With a change in circumstances, I found myself at a bit of a loose end a few days a week so I dropped an email over to the Volunteer Team to ask if they needed any help. For the next few months, I volunteered with the events team which was not only a great experience but involved working along with some really lovely people too, many of whom I enjoy catching up with when I see them at events today.

One of my highlights is the Big Wheel event which involved a whole weekend for set up before the event and breakdown afterwards.

My fondest memory of that day is when we were packing up and the very last rider came back after everyone else had finished and gone home. He had his little boy on the back of his bike and had ridden the 64-mile route. Even though he was outside of the time and the marshals couldn’t stay with him, he took the decision to carry on and finish. It was quite emotional as he crossed the line and we formed a guard of honour – it really illustrated how much these events mean to those involved.

I moved away later that year but returned in 2017 and got back in touch to volunteer again. I have loved helping out at the Christmas wrapping service in Festival Place in previous years and I’m hoping it will be possible to do so again this year. I was also really honoured to be asked to read a poem for the virtual Sunflower Service this year – it’s great that events and fundraising were able to continue even when it wasn’t possible for us to gather in person.

In between all of this, I managed to fit in another fundraising activity with an abseil down the Spinnaker Tower in 2018. It was amazing! The weather was perfect and the views incredible – another recommendation from me if you’re looking for fundraising ideas!

I’m writing this having helped give out walker numbers at the 2021 Moonlight Walk last night – the same event that I took part in 7 years ago – it was so lovely to be at a real-life event and again see so many people taking part to raise money for vital Hospice services.

I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone at the Hospice for everything that they do – we were so lucky that St. Michael’s was there when we needed them and I hope that I can give a little bit back to help make sure they are there for more people who need them in the future.