We’re reflecting on all the amazing things that happened during the festive season 2024 to support KEMP Hospice. Click here to read more.
As we reach the end of January, we thought it would be a great time to reflect on all the amazing things that happened during the festive season, to help bring some festive cheer to the hospice, and to raise vital funds to support our care services.
KEMP Fundraising Events
Each year we hold several events throughout the festive season, and once again we were blown away by your generosity and support. From all the Santas running 5K and 10K through Kidderminster, to taking a moment to reflect and remember loved ones with Light Up a Life. Your dedication and commitment is phenomenal, and throughout the festive season your support of our events helped to raise over £40,000 for KEMP Hospice!
We never charge for our care, so every penny raised goes directly towards the care and services we provide to the people who need us across the Wyre Forest.
Hospice Fun for the Festive Season
It’s also an important time at Day Hospice during the festive season, and our teams pull out all the stops to help our patients enjoy their time here at the Hospice. Whether that was enjoying a visit from Kidderminster Harriers, to listening to the wonderful music of SUSA Ukulele Group. These activities give our patients a place to relax, have fun, and help to give them brief respite from their worries and illnesses.
This year, we also had a tree on display at Worcester Cathedral Tree Festival and Day Hospice Patients helped prepare some decorations during their creative arts sessions. They created some beautiful eye-catching baubles which helped to showcase KEMP Hospice to over 60,000 visitors to the festival!
Finally, in amongst all the festive fun was one of our favourite activities, Christmas Cake making! It’s a tradition that begins back in Autumn when we make the cakes with patients. These then get tended to by KEMP Chef Richard until it’s time to decorate in the run up to Christmas. It’s a great activity that patients can get involved with, and it’s always a pleasure to see them take their creations home to enjoy.
KEMP Teams getting involved
The festive season is such a wonderful time for giving and 2024 was no exception. KEMP Head of Retail, Gary took on an advent challenge and with his usual enthusiasm and commitment, you may have seen him around the hospice and KEMP shops sporting a glitter beard! He chose a different colour each day and finished with a flash as he lit up his beard! As well as bringing lots of smiles around the hospice, Gary raised an amazing £700 for KEMP Hospice thanks to donations via his Just Giving page!
We also had some mischievous going on thanks to our very own scout elves as Elf on the Shelf took over KEMP! Each team adopted their own scout elf and found them in some interesting locations each day! KEMP teams work incredibly hard each year, so it was great to have some festive fun, enjoy some creativity and give everyone the chance to get involved.
KEMP Children’s Christmas Craft Event
It’s also important to acknowledge that the festive season can be a challenging time, with thoughts of loved ones who are no longer with us are particularly poignant at this time of year.
On 5th December 2024, KEMP’s Family Support & Bereavement Services Team shared a Christmas Craft Event to help Children & Young People make special memories this Christmas. Children and young people who have accessed their service in the last year, were invited to come along and take part in a variety of creative and craft activities in groups. They could enjoy activities in a safe space, meeting others who may be experiencing similar feelings about their own grief. Find out more about the event.
We had some wonderful festive fun at KEMP. From the events and activities that help to raise vital funds for KEMP Hospice, to the activities in Day Hospice that can be enjoyed by all our patients. We never charge for our care; however, we must raise around £1.6million each year to continue to provide our services. It’s thanks to your donations, fundraising and support that we can continue to be there for people when they need us, at some of the most challenging times of their lives.
As we look forward to 2025 and the year ahead, we’d like to take a moment to reflect and say thank you, from all of us at KEMP Hospice.