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Hospice means a lot in life of Brian
HEAT IS ON ... vice-chairman of the board of the hospice trustees, Brian Brown, volunteers in day care every week, and is firmly behind the Gazette campaign.
A ST Clare’s trustee who says the hospice has become part of his life is hoping people will back the Gazette’s campaign.
Brian Brown began volunteering at the hospice in Primrose Terrace, Jarrow, in 1995, and before long he was asked to join its board of trustees.
The 78-year-old went on to become the board’s vice-chairman, and has dedicated his life to volunteering at the hospice at least once a week for the past 17 years.
Now he’s supporting our bid to help raise £50,000 for the hospice.
Mr Brown, who lives in The Nook, South Shields, with his wife, Nancy, said: “I love spending time at St Clare’s – that’s why I make sure I’m there at least once a week.
“It’s become part of my life. It’s a fantastic place where people who are ill get looked after.
“The atmosphere there is remarkable, and the difference between it and a normal hospice is staggering. People think the hospice is going to be a really depressing place, but it’s quite the opposite.”
Mr Brown, a retired Rohm and Haas worker, assists with the running of the hospice as a trustee, stepping in to help with whatever needs done.
But as a daycare volunteer, the grandad-of-four enjoys spending time with the patients and baking for them.
He said: “I like cooking for the patients and baking them cakes and things that they can have with a nice cup of tea, but it’s not just them.
“There’s times when the smell of a freshly cooked pie will waft along the corridors towards the in-patients, and somebody who maybe hasn’t eaten in days, is tempted to have a little bite – it’s very rewarding.
“I’m 78, and being a trustee is a very demanding job so I might not continue to do it for very long, but I’ll always volunteer at the hospice. My life wouldn’t be the same without it.”
St Clare’s Hospice was set up 25 years ago to provide palliative care for the people of South Tyneside with life-limiting illnesses.
It has annual running costs of £2m – £1.4m of which it must raise itself.
But this year it is facing a £50,000 shortfall, and in November the Gazette launched it’s c/o St Clare’s campaign to help raise the funds.
So far, South Tynesiders have helped to raise £21,000, leaving the running total just shy of the half-way mark.
Mr Brown added: “There’s a connection in people’s minds that the hospice is somewhere that people go to die, but people need to realise that it’s so much more than that.
“I couldn’t even begin to think along the lines that the hospice would ever close down, because it’s needed so much.
“You’ve got to stay positive when it comes to things like this, and I absolutely hope that local people will support this campaign.
“The help of the Gazette has been fantastic, and I think more people have got behind the hospice because of it.”
Twitter: @ ShieldsGazVicki
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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