Dorothy House Hospice Care

Our offices are now closed for Christmas. All social media messages and emails will be responded to when we return on Friday 27 December. For any urgent enquiries please contact Reception on 01225 722 988. Wishing all of our lovely supporters a wonderful Christmas! ☃️🎄

Here's a story about how your generous donations can support our community in unexpected ways! At Dorothy House, we are always keen to work with and support our local community. We also like to find innovative ways to reduce waste and ensure we make the most of all the donations we receive. With this in mind, we are excited to be partnering with Silverwood School via their book donation initiative. Silverwood School caters for pupils with special educational needs that cannot be met in mainstream provision, some of whom are terminally ill. The school caters for three hundred and sixty pupils from the ages of four to nineteen. The school has three main libraries and two peripheral ones, with the aim to offer a library space for each classroom. With only £2,000 in funding to fill the libraries with books, Curriculum Lead Steve Lanson-Dale reached out to a number of charities and organisations to request donations. We were very happy to help with such a worthy cause which aligns so closely with our own values. Among the generous donations we receive, we have many books that we are unable to sell as they are damaged or have been written in. This initiative has offered a brilliant solution to dealing with waste and has been so well received by our volunteers, who are now all on the lookout for books for Silverwood. We are grateful for any and all donations to our shops, and you can be safe in the knowledge we will do everything we can to ensure they do the most good for our community 💜 #CharityPartnership #WiltshireSchools #PrelovedBooks

Christmas can be a difficult time of year for those who are bereaved or grieving. We have pulled together a list of resources that you can turn to when you need a break from the festivities to find some calm and solace. Click here for grief self-care tips, song suggestions, our movie list, poetry library and much more: https://loom.ly/zSEI7GU Dorothy House Hospice Care #grief #bereavement #christmasgrief

As part of our Christmas Appeal this year, we’ve also offered our supporters the chance to share their special Christmas memories with us, which are displayed on our website. Members of our team have also contributed to our memory wall, sharing their own special moments from past Christmases. We’ve been sharing snippets across our socials over the last week or so, but you can watch the full film below. Head to our website to support our Christmas Appeal and share your own special memories with our community. #ChristmasMemories #SupportFamilies #WiltshireUK

Are you a medical or nursing professional looking at developing your skills in palliative care? Join us for our Palliative Care Masterclass in collaboration with Sobell Education Oxford this January - places are limited, so book your place today! Register now: https://loom.ly/KUy3yKc #PalliativeCareTeam #NursingCommunity #MedicalProfessionals

We've got a fresh batch of volunteer vacancies available - perfect if you're looking for a meaningful way to spend your free time in the new year! We're currently on the lookout for: 🚗 Drivers (Community based in various locations) - Volunteers with full driving licence required to collect patients from their homes and take them to their Dorothy House appointments and back. 💜 Companions (Community based in various locations) - Providing companionship and practical and emotional support to patients in their homes. 💻 Volunteer Services Admin - Driver Coordinator - Organising lifts from patients’ homes to Dorothy House at Winsley and back. 👥 Group Support - Volunteers required to facilitate our new Bereavement Help Point in Peasedown St John, opening in February 2025. 🚶♂️ Volunteer Services Admin - Walking Through Grief Coordinator - Collating names of community members wishing to join our Walking Through Grief group, obtaining and forwarding information from walk leads. 💕 Dementia Carer Support Volunteer (North and West Wiltshire, East Somerset, Bath and Keynsham) - Volunteers required to provide support in the community to carers supporting loved ones with dementia. Interested in something else? We have volunteer roles available to suit all interests - head to our website to browse our full list! #VolunteerRoles #CharityVolunteers #HospiceCharity

We’re out and about in your community this January collecting your Christmas trees for recycling, and we’re looking for local businesses to volunteer teams and vehicles to help support! In the last eight years, our annual Christmas tree collection in partnership with national charity JustHelping has raised an incredible £370,000 for the Hospice, but it wouldn’t be possible without the support of our volunteers and a whole host of local businesses who give their time and vehicles to help make it a success. If you’re looking for a great day of team building, or have access to a van that you can use to collect trees, we want to hear from you. Drop an email to christmastrees@dorothyhouse-hospice.org.uk and we’ll be in touch! #CommunityCare #DorothyHouse #ChristmasTreeRecycling

While death and money are topics that people shy away from, it’s incredibly important to plan ahead. Getting your affairs in order can make a big difference for you and your loved ones, offering peace of mind, protecting your assets, and preventing conflict. We know it can be a little tricky knowing where to start, which is why we’re hosting a Later Life Planning Clinic this January, alongside Lucy Langley of Bath Wills. Lucy will be on hand to answer any questions you may have around drafting a will, estate planning, trusts, and powers of attorney. There’s no need to book, simply come along with your questions. #EndOfLifePlanning #CommunityEvent #FamilySupport

Can you believe it's been two weeks since the Jingle Jog?! And what a fabulous day we had!🎄 👏 200 people joined us for our festive fun-run, and we're delighted to share that the current fundraising total is a fantastic £9,000! Thank you so much to everyone who came along - it was a wonderful day and the Christmas cheer was flowing! Thank you to our friends at Winsley Cricket Club for having us, and to our volunteer photographers Colin Rayner Photography and Tim Maynard for covering the event (you can check out all of their photos on our Facebook page!). A big thank you to Joe Hunt and the BathTub Orchestra for keeping the festive vibes coming with some great music, and to My Skills For Life Ltd for being on hand for first-aid support. Finally, a huge thank you to our amazing volunteers who helped make the event such a success - we couldn't have done it without you! #FestiveFunRun #CharityEvents #ChristmasEvents

We are delighted to announce that Dorothy House has won a The Good Grief Trust Shine a Light Award 2024 for all three categories entered! The theme for 2024's National Grief Awareness Week was ‘Shine a Light’. The aim of the awards is to shine a light on people, places and projects across the UK going above and beyond to make a difference to the bereaved and grieving in their community. It also aims to raise greater awareness of the outstanding bereavement services up and down the country. Entered into the awards were our Bereavement Help Points, Coffee Connections, and the Winsley House Place Project, an initiative that includes our Interactive Nature Trail, Firefly Woods, and our partnership with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Each of our entries illustrates the many ways Dorothy House has both created a community, and supports our local community. Linda Magistris, CEO and founder of The Good Grief Trust said: “We are delighted that Dorothy House Hospice Care was recognised with a Shine a Light Award this year. The innovative and ground-breaking projects you have created to support those grieving in your community, are clearly making a huge difference to the lives of those bereaved in your community. We particularly loved the Firefly Woods and interactive virtual reality project. To enable those struggling at home to be immersed in nature, when they are unable to get out of the house, is a wonderful initiative, and will benefit so many.” We are very proud to have won a Shine a Light Award and we're also sending our congratulations to our fellow winners! #CommunitySupport #GriefAndLoss #HospiceCharity #ShineALight #NationalGriefAwarenessWeek