Stortford nursing assistant's little stars boost St Clare Hospice funds

A nursing assistant has come up with a creative way of boosting the funds of the hospice where she works.

Sarah Hollis has enjoyed home ceramics as a hobby for some years and in November she was asked if she would use her skills to contribute to gift packages for patients through St Clare Hospice's Compassionate Neighbours scheme.

Sarah, of Bishop's Stortford, who joined the Hospice At Home Team in April last year, donated more of the stars and teamed up with colleague Sarah Lord to market them through the fundraising department and sell them from the hospice's reception desk.

"I decided to try another initiative creating ceramic hearts for Valentine’s Day which also sold well, raising a total of over £200 combined," said Sarah who added 100% of the profits have gone to hospice funds.

Sarah Lord, also a nursing assistant with the Hospice At Home team, and who previously worked as a graphic designer, said: “When I saw Sarah H’s beautiful ceramic hearts I knew I could use my experience in marketing as a graphic designer to create simple branded card tags to finish each piece.

"It was my hope to generate income for the hospice with beautiful keepsakes that our staff, supporters and volunteers could cherish,” added Sarah, of Sawbridgeworth.

St Clare Hospice provides specialist palliative care for people living with terminal or life-limiting illnesses across West Essex and the East Herts border. The services are free of charge, but cost around £5 million a year to run and with limited NHS funding the majority comes through fundraising schemes such as the two Sarahs along with donations and other voluntary sources.