When Anne Lancaster meets people who haven’t been to Saint Francis Hospice, they are often puzzled about how she can go back to the place where her mum passed away, let alone volunteer there.
‘How can you go to such a sad place?’ they will ask her. ‘It’s not a sad place, otherwise I wouldn’t go there,’ Anne will explain. ‘It’s because my mum died at a hospice that I keep coming back, and boy was I glad to get her here. Mum spent seven wonderful weeks on the ward.’
Anne volunteers at the Hospice’s social hub for people who all have at least one thing in common: a life-limiting illness. It’s at Pemberton Place where they can enjoy anything from live music, physiotherapy, exercising and socialising, to receiving financial advice, manicures and pedicures.
‘I don’t look at this as “work”,’ Anne said. ‘It’s an honour to be given a chance to help these people. I look forward to coming to the Hospice, and people find that hard to believe too.’
By volunteering for Saint Francis Hospice, you can make a real difference to people living with life-limiting illnesses. We need people to do all different kinds of jobs. To find out more, please email volunteering@sfh.org.uk or call 01708 758614. If it’s retail that you’re interested in, then you can find your local store here.
