Are you a teacher looking for ideas to get creative in class and engage your pupils in community initiatives? Why not host a Hospice Sunflower Fun Day in your school this June and help make a difference to St Francis Hospice?

By asking staff and students to plant sunflower seeds or wear yellow & donate just €2, you can bring a little sunshine to those who need hospice care in your community.

Register or find out more at https://www.sunflowerdays.ie/or contact our fundraising team on 018327535 or fundraising@sfh.ie

Schools all over the country are supporting their local hospice by participating in a Hospice Sunflower Fun Day this year but you can also look out for the annual Hospice Sunflower Days on-street collection which will be taking place on Friday 6th & Saturday 7th June. 

Our new Children and Young People’s Charter spells out in child-friendly language and graphics our commitment to the children and young people under our care and those whose loved ones are receiving hospice care through our services. Framed copies will be displayed in both our hospices and there is a printed leaflet to give further information to families.

Read our Spring/Summer issue of Hospice Connection to find out about Declan’s revitalising experience of care in our Outpatient and Day Service. Meet our “fur-tastic” Spring Memorial Walk ambassadors, volunteer therapy dogs Vixy and Bo! Learn about our newest bereavement support initiatives, a monthly Grief Café and a Walk and Talk group.

We are delighted to announce the winners of our Annual Car Draw!

1st Prize – Toyota Yaris Cross Luna Hybrid – J. McKenna
2nd Prize – €2,000 – B. O’Reilly
3rd Prize – €1,000 – B. O’Shaughnessy
4th Prize – €200 Swirl Voucher – D. McCoy
5th Prize – €200 Swirl Voucher – M. White
6th Prize – €200 Swirl Voucher – A. Taylor
7th Prize – €200 Swirl Voucher – P. Bell
8th Prize – €200 Swirl Voucher – A. McCardle

All winners have been notified.

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all who entered!

Read our Autumn/Winter issue of Hospice Connection to find out about building plans for our new 24-bed single room in-patient unit in Raheny. Learn about the experiences of Shenda (RIP) and her family in St Francis Hospice. Find out more about four of our wonderful volunteers. Enter our Annual Car Draw for a chance to win!

“Swords Pavilions has had St Francis Hospice as our Charity of Choice for a number of years which has become a very fruitful partnership. The Raheny hospice site sits within the catchment area of the centre providing vital services to our community, and it allows us to utilise the shopping centre to create awareness of their work. It also gives St Francis Hospice a vehicle to raise funds to support necessary equipment upgrades. Through this partnership we have been able to have a positive impact not only on patients, but also staff of the hospice. Finally the partnership has helped the growth of our team at Swords Pavilions where we have been able to give back to our community over the years and experience the genuine appreciation from all the wonderful staff at St Francis Hospice in Raheny.”

 

Ian Hunter – General Manager, Swords Pavilions

St Francis Hospice, Raheny, has been a valued charity partner of Global for four years. St Francis Hospice was nominated by a colleague who was appreciative of the care his sister, and all his family, received from the hospice.

This partnership has been mutually beneficial for Global and the Hospice. We have been in the position to provide advertising space to St Francis Hospice to promote their services and fundraising events. We have also been able to work on their grounds to help maintain and improve the wonderful environment they provide for their residents and families.

Our team has learned about the hospice and how it cares for its residents, we have learned about the challenges it faces and its plans for growth.

We were amazed at its widespread reach across the broad northside of the county and the wide range of services provided both in the hospice and in the community.

Our on site days give our colleagues time out from their day to day to give something to our charity partner, to work with each other in a different way and to learn about each other. Conversations run deep and people come away feeling they have done something worthwhile.

As time goes on and other colleagues are on the receiving end of St Francis Hospice support, our understanding and our partnership has become even stronger.

“At Novum we have always tried to do our bit for the local community, be it sponsoring local sports team or fund raising for charities.

However last year we wanted to commit to a cause for the long term within in our local community, we wanted to give something back, I truly believe we have a responsibility.

We became aware of the support St Francis needed to develop the Raheny site.

Our community responsibility team, which is made up of several people from our manufacturing site, visited St Francis Hospice in Blanchardstown to learn more about the organisation. We were blown away with what we experienced. The work that these people do is hard to put into words.

Our community responsibility team set out a target every 3 months, in just over a year, we have raised over €28,000. This was achieved by getting all employees and suppliers involved in fund raising events. Not only has it been a huge achievement for St Francis Hospice, but it has also been extremely valuable for our culture within Novum.

Like a lot of business in this area, Novum employ a lot of local people and has done so for over 60 years. Many of our employees are familiar, through personal, family or friend’s experiences, with the unbelievable service that St Francis Hospice provides.

I truly believe that more Companies within the area can, and should do more for St Francis Hospice. They play such a pivotal role in our local community.”

Paul Murphy – COO, Novum Overseas