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King’s New Year Honours: Renee Friend, champion fundraiser for Isabel Hospice, awarded British Empire Medal




Renée Friend cannot walk through Bishop’s Stortford town centre without being stopped by someone who has been touched by her work with Isabel Hospice.

Now, as a recipient of a British Empire Medal in the King’s New Year Honours published on Monday night, recognition of her 35 years of inspirational voluntary work with the charity can only grow.

For 79-year-old Renée, that can only be a good thing as it means her mission to keep the hospice’s profile as high as possible will continue.

Renee Friend and mayor Cllr Norma Symonds at an Isabel Hospice On Your Bike fundraising ride
Renee Friend and mayor Cllr Norma Symonds at an Isabel Hospice On Your Bike fundraising ride

She described news of the honour as “amazing”, adding: “It’s a huge honour – and a big surprise.”

Renée’s involvement with Isabel – the Welwyn Garden City-based hospice service for East Herts, Broxbourne and Welwyn Hatfield – was born out of frustration with the way her mother spent her final days in a hospital corridor, dying of cancer.

That was in 1978, when hospices were in their infancy, so initially she volunteered for Cancer Research UK and began raising funds for that charity.

Renee receiving her Charity Champion award from Marcella M’Rabaty, of headline sponsor Stansted Airport, at the inaugural Indies Community Awards at Manor of Groves Hotel in High Wych in November 2018. Pic: Vikki Lince
Renee receiving her Charity Champion award from Marcella M’Rabaty, of headline sponsor Stansted Airport, at the inaugural Indies Community Awards at Manor of Groves Hotel in High Wych in November 2018. Pic: Vikki Lince

“In the mid-80s I was contacted by Isabel Hospice saying they were trying to raise funds,” she said. “I decided yes, that’s what I should be doing, in [my mother’s] loving memory.”

Renée set up her first fundraising group in Braughing, then the Hadhams and finally in Stortford.

Besides her fundraising exploits, she has provided bereavement support to families and been a volunteer in the hospice’s in-patient unit (IPU). She was heavily involved in the fundraising to build the hospice’s first IPU and her engagement with the community has seen her raise £40,000 a year.

Renée also runs bereavement meetings and coffee mornings in the Markwell Studio – formerly the Markwell Pavilion – in Castle Park and at Bishop’s Stortford Methodist Church, and is involved in the hospice’s Compassionate Neighbours scheme.

Renée Friend has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the King’s New Year Honours for her inspirational voluntary work, which has spanned 35 years and counting, in aid of Isabel Hospice
Renée Friend has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the King’s New Year Honours for her inspirational voluntary work, which has spanned 35 years and counting, in aid of Isabel Hospice

In the commendation for the award, Renée was described as “creative, inspirational” with “huge amounts of energy which encourages others to support her and the hospice”.

She could not hide her frustration over the system of funding for hospices, but says the efforts of the community ensure the £7.2 million a year needed to maintain Isabel Hospice’s work is realised.

“We count on the support of our local communities – we rely on that to do it,” said Renée, who said she could not do what she does without her “great team of volunteers”.

Inevitably her passion for the hospice has rubbed off on her family, describing her husband David’s support as amazing. Her two sons and two daughters were involved from a young age.

And she was proud to say even her seven grandchildren have been touched by her enthusiasm. “My granddaughter ran a cupcake stall for ‘my nanna’,” said Renée, who was the first recipient of the Charity Champion title in the inaugural Indies Community Awards in 2018.

That first burst of passion for the work of Isabel Hospice is undimmed and a busy period in December saw Renée organise 12 events.

“I just love the whole ethos of the hospice,” she said. “It’s the heart of our town and that’s amazing.”



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