It’s been a tough year for all charities but Jane Frame, director of fundraising at Saint Francis Hospice, explains how important the community’s support has been to staff

We are eternally grateful for the support from family and friends, neighbours and strangers, local businesses, organisations, schools, churches and supporters from all walks of life, who see their hospice as an essential part of the community.

So much has changed in a short period of time – the world around us, our neighbourhoods, gathering spaces, the places we work and call home. I wanted to say thank you to them for helping Saint Francis Hospice support our loved ones and neighbours through the most difficult period, as a nation, that we have ever had to face.

Your fundraising, donations of money, personal protective equipment and goods and services are a daily reminder of the generosity inherent in this community and we wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you. You are amazing.

The support this community gives to people needing the experience and care that Saint Francis Hospice can give means so much, to so many local people. People like Nabeel from Harold Wood, who was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumour at the age of 39. Your support helped provide the six weeks of care where our team of doctors and nurses looked after his every need.

People like Tilly, whom we supported with bereavement therapy at her school.

Her beloved Grandad spent four weeks at Saint Francis, in peace and in comfort at a very difficult time in their lives.

People like Mimi, who at the age of 36 had to deal with the news that her cancer had spread to her bones. Mimi was cared for by Saint Francis Hospice and, after 18 days of round the clock care, died peacefully at our hospice, aged 39.

During this unprecedented time our community is looking to Saint Francis Hospice for help, to provide the same exceptional and experienced care that they expected from us prior to Covid-19. In everything we do, this is our absolute priority.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support us through these exceptionally difficult times. You really are amazing.