HUGE DONATION: Left to right: Barry Wilson (Community & Events Fundraiser) Jen Rotchell (Senior Trust & Corporate Fundraiser) Lin Sharp (Capital Appeal Director) Neal Williams (Trust Secretary – Macmillan Caring Locally) Rosie Havers, Peter Graham, Doreen Graham, Clive Fawn (League of Friends)
The appeal to build a new, specialist palliative care unit in Christchurch has received its biggest, single donation yet – £110,600 from The League of Friends of the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
The League of Friends closed in December 2018 after an illustrious fundraising career spanning 64 years.
The charity raised more than £8m in that time, most recently funding an £80,000 piece of equipment for the Urology department. But despite having a membership of over 120 people, most were well over retirement age and the charity was no longer able to sustain itself.
Its final act was to donate its remaining funds to the Macmillan Caring Locally Brick by Brick appeal which aims to replace the outdated, 44-year-old Macmillan Unit at Christchurch Hospital with a state-of-the-art, specialist, palliative care unit.
Lin Sharp, Capital Appeal Director for Macmillan Caring Locally said: “The League of Friends has supported Macmillan Caring Locally over many years making several significant donations. When we heard what the group was planning to donate on this occasion, it left us speechless and then very emotional.”
She continued: “We have already raised £5m towards building the new unit but we still need to raise a further £6m. This donation will not just enable us to lay bricks, it will create a whole room at the Unit. The “quiet room” in the new unit will be funded and a commemorative plaque will mark its astonishing legacy. We cannot thank The League of Friends enough.”
The Macmillan Unit (no relation to the national charity) was built in 1974 and while the NHS funds some core services, a significant proportion of its funding comes from the Macmillan Caring Locally charity, thanks to the generosity of the local community.
More than 1,600 patients with life-limiting illnesses are supported by the unit each year and its volunteers carry out a multitude of services from patient transport and fundraising to end of life and respite visits.
Rosie Havers, the Chair of The League of Friends of the Royal Bournemouth Hospital said: “We have tremendous respect and admiration for the Macmillan Unit and it gives us a great deal of satisfaction to know that our remaining funds will be used in the creation of this outstanding facility.”
To donate to the Brick by Brick Appeal visit: www.macmillanlocal.org
Media information from Debbie Granville at Deep South Media on 07884 657782 email: Debbie.granville@deepsouthmedia.co.uk
