VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER – APRIL 2016
Mary Dunne, Volunteer Services Manager, on 647445 or email [email protected]
I hope everyone had a lovely Easter and now that Spring is officially upon us we can dust off the cobwebs and enjoy a bit of sunshine! Spring is also a great time to have a clear out and if you are feeling energetic and are doing this don’t forget our Hospice Warehouse and shops.
I have settled into my new role and am enjoying it very much. Bev has been a great help in pointing me in the right direction and we are both looking forward to saying hello to as many volunteers as possible at our Feel Good Event on Friday, 15th April.
Best wishes Mary
Dates for your Diary
Feel Good Friday - 15th April 2016 10am to 1pm Thank you to everyone that came along and helped – it was a great day.
Check out all the great events planned for Children’s Hospice Week. Can you help out at any of the events? If so please let us know?
Wednesday 25th May with a Pamper event at the Claremont Hotel. Tickets are £7.50 Thursday 26th May will see mini Mary Berrys and Paul Hollywoods bringing their cakes to Rebecca House for a cake off. This will include both an adult and children’s competition. It is also hoped that offices/schools and clubs will have a cake sale. In the evening there will be an exclusive Tea and Gin party at the T junction. It is a ticketed event for £20 per person which includes arrival drinks, afternoon tea (albeit at 7pm) plus the opportunity to try gin infused teas. A raffle with some very special prizes. Friday 27th May will see the Rebecca House team in town, outside Marks and Spencer selling Rebecca House merchandise with some very special friends – rumours are a white rabbit and some bears may appear! This will be from 10.30am-4pm. On the same day volunteers and staff will man the many tills at Tesco for a bag packing endurance from 10am-7pm. Volunteer bag packers are wanted for this event – Can you help?. The day will wrap up with a quiz at the Cat with No Tail with the quiz master of the Isle of Man, Dave Hughes. £10 per team for up to 6 people. The final day of this week will see Teddies on the Train – Groudle Glen and Rebecca House will run a fun day from 11am to 4pm. Bring your teddy for a lovely day out. £4 per child (teddy goes free!). All events can be booked through Event Manager, Sharon Connor at Hospice on [email protected] or ring 647432.
COLOUR ME RAINBOW – join in the fun by running/walking the prom and end up looking like you have walked through a rainbow! The event will be held on Sunday, July 17, 2016 - 3.00pm - Douglas Promenade.
EARLY NOTIFICATION OF SOME DISRUPTION The Fundraising Team are delighted to announce that the Friends Provident Urban Slide event will be held in Peel this year. The event is on Sunday 21st August 2016 and will involve a lot of people having fun and raising funds for our charity. Walpole Road will be used for the slide and this will mean that vehicle access to The Parade will not be available. A letter has gone out to the residents of the area to let them know about the event and that we will work hard to keep the disruption to you to a minimum. This event will necessitate the roads being closed from 7am with re-opening by 10pm at the very latest. We are working in partnership with Peel Town Commissioners and we hope this event will benefit all traders in the Peel area. If you would like to volunteer to assist at this event please let us know.
The Fundraising Events calendar is available on our website www.hospice.org.im If anyone would like to help out at a particular event please let me or Bev know or you can contact the Fundraising Team direct and they will contact you nearer the time to let you know what you can do to assist. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Hospice Shops Castletown Shop A new furniture Barn has opened in the Castletown shop – thanks to everyone who assisted. Why not pop along – you may pick up a bargain!
People One of our bedroom volunteers Val Lally is a very proud Grandmother – Val’s grandson ‘Ben’ was registered with the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust and was called upon recently to donate bone marrow in the UK to assist a young adult female. Ben cheerfully went through the process and has made his family, especially his grandmother very proud! Well done Ben.
Kathy Darnill our Bereavement Counsellor has taken the role of Pastoral Care Co-ordinator in addition to her Counsellor’s role.
Training Following a request from some volunteers to have basic life support and defibrillator training I have spoken with our Education Lead who will look into arranging this training. If you would like to be included please let the Volunteer Department know.
Further Training Dates –
Welcome Day for new volunteers – 9th May Volunteer Training – 18th June Hospice Sunflower Volunteers – 1 day training session – 7th May
If you have not been contacted about training and would like to be included in any future training dates please let myself or Bev know.
Volunteer Vacancies
Castletown Shop – Can you spare an hour or two to help out in our Castletown shop, if so please contact Shops Manager, Judith Leslie on 615116 or email [email protected]. IPU Care Support - Saturday afternoon 4.30pm to 8pm; Sunday morning 10am to 12pm
Manicurist Wanted - Day Centre Tuesday/Wednesday mornings; Thursday afternoon – can you help?
Reiki Therapist and Reflexologist Wanted - Day Centre sessions in the Scholl Centre and Ramsey Drop in Day require a manicurist – can you help? If so please contact myself or Bev.
Transport Volunteers – Would you be available to transport our Day Unit patients to and from our Day Unit? If you are interested in becoming one of our volunteer drivers please contact us.
SOS Volunteers Wanted – Would you like to be ‘on call’. We are always looking for people we can call at short notice to cover on our receptions; drivers; Day Centre – if you can help please let us know.
Sickness/Holidays If you are unable to cover your regular shift due to illness or holidays or any other reason, please remember to let us know, the department is open from 8.30am each morning Monday to Friday and you can contact either myself or Bev on 647445/6 or emailing [email protected] or [email protected]
Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and if you have any suggestions or items you think everyone should know about please don’t hesitate to let us know and we will include them in future newsletters. Mary & Bev