M&S a breath of fresh air for Hospiscare

Staff from Marks & Spencer in Exeter gave Hospiscare patients an important gift recently after choosing the charity as its Store Charity of the Year.

15 hand-held, battery operated fans were delivered to patients at the Exeter hospice, to not only help them keep cool, but also to help with symptom control.

Hospiscare Ward Manager Petra Osborne said: “The fans are particularly helpful for patients who suffer from breathlessness, panic or anxiety as they can be used in conjunction with strategies taught to patients to control their symptoms.”

The M&S team have been busy collecting and raising money for the charity since offering their support earlier this year.

M&S Charity Committee Member Adrienne Kightley said: “We ask people every year to choose which charity they would like to support. We narrow it down and then one wins. This year Hospiscare was chosen.”

As well as collecting customer donations in the many buckets and tins placed at pay points within the High Street store, staff from M&S Exeter have also been organising a whole host of fun events to raise funds.

The team has already raised a massive £2,197 so far this year through donations and staff initiatives such as selling flowers and plants past their sell-by-date to staff.

Adrienne said: “To coincide with the 20th anniversary of selling Percy Pig sweets, we also held a staff event to guess the number of the sweets in a box. The lady who won then kindly donated them to a children’s home.”

The team is planning more events throughout the year, from race nights to beauty makeovers, getting people involved in the fun whilst helping Hospiscare to continue to provide vital care and support to people with terminal diagnoses in Exeter, mid and east Devon.

Hospiscare Corporate Fundraiser John Arnold visited the staff at M&S recently to talk about the charity and the services it provides for patients.

Adrienne said: “We were really pleased to hear that our fans have been so useful to the patients.

“We’re passionate about our charities anyway but we haven’t had this much interaction with a charity; it was a really eye-opening talk and we’d love to visit the hospice to see the work for ourselves.”

John Arnold said: “We can’t thank Marks & Spencer enough for their kind donation of fans which are so beneficial to our patients.

“I think it’s fantastic that Marks & Spencer has chosen Hospiscare as its Charity of the Year. Hospiscare is a local charity so it’s really fitting that our local Marks & Spencer Exeter is supporting us.”

Click here for more information about Hospiscare.