Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Flying start for hospice
Hospice needs £9 million
St Andrew’s Hospice hope to see donations fly in to their capital appeal fund after launching the major public phase of their £9 million fundraiser.
White doves, the charity’s emblem, were released at the Airdrie hospice to mark the launch of the new Nine 4 Thirty project – named after the fundraising target and the current anniversary year – to fund a complete redevelopment.
The appeal’s aim is to completely modernise the facilities in a transformation including improved and enlarged rooms and direct garden access for every patient.
Fundraisers have secured around half the total cost thanks to grants from trusts and major donors.
Now they need the people of Monklands to support the appeal by helping to raise the millions needed to completely revamp the Henderson Street building in a year-long redesign.
Local companies and politicians were invited to two busy presentations to find out more about the hospice’s redevelopment and fundraising plans.
They were also reminded that the target of the £ 9m capital appeal, which is expected to run until 2019, is in addition to the £88,000 per week which the hospice already has to raise to cover its routine running costs.
Capital appeal chairman Gibby Cox, who was leading the launch on his 81st birthday, told the Advertiser: “We’re asking people to run a wee tea party for half a dozen people and put a donation in; to take one of our Pearls of Wisdom books as a wee gift when visiting friends; or to put change in our bucket collections all over the place.
“The capital appeal also asks companies to make us their charity partner, make a business pledge or to match- fund any amounts that employees have collected through any events like quizzes or sponsored walks.
“We’ve also been promised gifts and services such as bricks, heating, scaffolding and lifts, which is a great help.”
The former Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire is a long-standing friend of the hospice and has a personal connection with the organisation as his daughter-in-law Lorna was cared for there during her final months.
Chapelhall man Mr Cox added: “It’s nice to give something back and I’m glad to do that and to be working alongside the hard-working team, who are great.
“So far we’re halfway there through trust grants and big donations, which is on target for this stage. but the second half of the appeal will be harder work again.
“We’ve had events like Paws in the Park, glamour bingo and golf days, which have all been great successes.
“The regular running costs of the hospice still have to be managed alongside the capital appeal and the capital appeal can’t usurp that. It costs £7.3m per year to run the hospice and our fundraisers have to raise £88,000 per week, which still has to continue.”
Chief executive Bruce High said that the new-look hospice will be “night and day” compared to the current building, which no longer meets healthcare standards on room size, single accommodation and en suite facilities.
He said: “The hospice provides excellent care but we don’t have the environment to match that. There’s been a collaborative approach to the design of the new building, which will
It’s touched almost every family in the area
make a huge difference, and there’s great enthusiasm for it.
“At the time when it was built in 1986 it had state- of- the- art facilities but over the years building standards and expectations have changed.
“We look after far more patients now and in the past few years there have been significant changes in how care is delivered.
“We have insufficient room in some bedrooms, six of the singles are too big and don’t have a homely feel and we struggle at moment with access to the outdoors as we can’t get beds out to the courtyard.
“The new building will allow that and will have more single rooms plus three rooms with three beds for those who prefer to share. We’ve carried out research with patients and relatives to find out what they wanted.
“Our equipment and things like the the heating, plumbing and electrical systems are outdated and no longer cost-effective or efficient.”
He added: “The people of Lanarkshire have helped us in the past. There was a major capital appeal for the current building and for the Tom Cox building extension a decade ago.
“The hospice is an excellent facility and it belongs to the people of Lanarkshire. It was built with their money.
“It’s touched almost every family in the area in some way and now we’re asking for the same help and support again from local people as they’ve shown in the past.”
in some way and now we’re asking for help