Hospice’s Light up a Life service viewed by thousands

ROYAL BOROUGH: A poignant remembrance service held online by Thames Hospice over the weekend has been viewed by thousands of people and raised vital funds for the charity.

The ‘Light up a

Life’ (LUAL) service was streamed digitally for the first time on Sunday on the hospice’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

While it normally takes place at the hospice itself, the ceremony had to conform to virus restrictions but still enabled people to remember loved ones and enjoy carols and speeches from celebrity ambassadors.

A total of £75,000 has been donated to the LUAL appeal with more donations still coming in. More than 3,000 people have tuned in to the Facebook stream, while 1,244 have watched it on YouTube.

“It is obviously a very emotive service but we also wanted that uplifting message in it as well,” said Stephanie Peters, head of marketing at Thames Hospice.

“Even though people absolutely love coming to the hospice because it is very meaningful for them, we have also reached out to an audience who potentially do not live nearby.”

Visit www.thames hospice.org.uk/lualdonation to donate.

Thames Hospice has also benefitted from two donations totalling more than £140,000.

The charity was awarded a ‘life line’ last month from charitable funders The Wolfson Foundation, which awarded it a £100,000 grant to support running costs. The money was made available through the Foundation’s ‘COVID-19 Support Fund’. And on Monday this week, outgoing mayor Cllr Sayonara Luxton marked her last official engagement in post by presenting the hospice with a cheque for £40,194.

The money was raised by the mayor through her hosting of and participation in a variety of charitable events throughout her term.