'Much more positive' picture for hospices as events can be organised again
Hospice bosses across the region are planning their first events to raise vital funds after over a year of uncertainty.
The pandemic put a pause to mass fundraising events which raise thousands for the hard-hit care charities.
An emergency appeal had to be launched by Katharine House Hospice in September when shops closed and jobs were cut but now the picture is "much more positive" as events such as a Danceathon and the Forget Me Not event are due to go ahead.
Richard Soulsby, chief executive of Katharine House Hospice, said: "There's a real sense that we've survived through the pandemic now thanks to the wonderful support of our local community, particularly with the emergency appeal.
"Our shops have been up and running and have had a really positive relaunch and we're really pleased to be welcoming our customer back. The retail side is almost back to normal.
"We're reintroducing our fundraising events for the first time in 15 months. It feels like we're beginning to return to more normal operations.
"From our perspective we need to be careful to select events that can be held in a Covid-secure way. We're confident we can do that with the events we've got planned.
"The real difficulty has been lack of certainty, 'will we be back in lockdown', 'what are the rules'.
"It feels like everything is easing down a bit.
Events
"We've got a clear plan going forward, the whole picture is much more positive than it was six months ago."
The Danceathon is a six hour dance and fitness challenge which will take place outside on July 10 at Beacon Fitness and the Forget Me Not display will be at Shugborough from July 3 to 16.
The Skydive team will also be at Nottingham Air Field on July 3 jumping out of a plane to raise funds for the hospice.
Events are also being planned by the Mary Stevens Hospice fundraising team and with them "a little more normality".
A 'Black Country Yard Sale Trail' will be held on June 26 and throughout the summer the team will be visiting schools, clubs, nursing homes with a new 'ice cream parlour', then at the end of the summer they will hold their Summer Fayre in the hospice grounds on September 4.
A spokeswoman for Mary Stevens Hospice said: "As for the future of the hospice, holding these events means that we can gain a little more normality to how things were before the start of the pandemic.
"We know from speaking with supporters that they have really missed in person events and as long as we stick to the current guidelines to ensure that everyone is safe, we really cannot wait to be back out in our community!"
