Worcestershire’s St Richard’s Hospice is delighted to announce it has bagged £8,000 from a Tesco funding scheme.
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the second round of its Bags of Help funding initiative, which sees grants raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local outdoor community projects.
Work can now start to create the St Richard’s Greenfingers Garden Space project which will see the charity creating an area for gardening therapy to improve the health and well-being of patients and their loved ones at its base in Wildwood Drive, Worcester. This will include building a wheel-chair accessible greenhouse and a summer house which will be used by patients, families and volunteers.
Care Director, June Patel, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be awarded the £8,000 from the Bags of Help Initiative. Our Men’s Space group, in particular, are really keen to have somewhere to meet to do some light gardening, talk to others in a similar situation and take some time out in the midst of hospital appointments, health concerns and treatments. Our gardens and grounds are really special, offering a place for relaxation, reflection and connecting with nature which is very therapeutic.”
Mrs Patel added, “We want to thank the shoppers who voted for us to help us make this dream come true for our patients. It will be very well used by lots of our patients and families as a wonderful haven in the heart of our gardens. We are very grateful to Tesco’s Bags of Help initiative for supporting our care in this way.”
Tesco estimates that around six million votes were cast in stores up and down the UK. From 1 December, customers will be able to vote for local groups all year round, every time they shop and grants will be awarded monthly – meaning that thousands more projects will benefit from the scheme. Funding will now be awarded to groups who are seeking to use and develop outdoor spaces in ways that will benefit their local community, and money will be available in smaller amounts, making it more accessible. Customers will get the chance to vote for three different groups each month. At the end of each month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.
St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,500 patients and family members in Worcestershire with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
Patients are cared for in Day Hospice, the 17-bed In-patient Unit or in their own homes by a specialist professional team as well as many trained volunteers.
In the In-patient Unit, specialist staff are on hand 24 hours a day to manage patients’ symptoms and where, if appropriate, patients may spend the last few days of life in comfort and dignity. St Richard’s is an independent charity and is grateful for all donations to help it to continue its work.