Dedicated Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice volunteers with combined 285 years of service recognised at awards ceremony

Awards for 20, 15, 10 and five years’ service were given out to volunteers to mark their dedication and contribution. In total, the combined years of service from all the volunteers who received awards was 285 years.

At the hospice, more than 300 volunteers provide support such as working on the wards, supporting patients, doing gardening and maintenance, manning the hospice’s coffee shop, administration and fundraising. As well as human volunteers, the hospice also has four-legged ones – several furry PAT Dogs – who spend time on the wards meeting patients and their families.

The award for 20 years’ service was given to retired teacher and lawyer Anne Edis, who hails from Yorkshire and now lives in Peterborough. Anne first started volunteering at the hospice in 1999. Since then she has volunteered on the wards, helped to fundraise, volunteered in the hospice’s Synergy Cafés for people living with dementia and their carers, provided bereavement support to families and given talks on Thorpe Hall's history.

“I have gained so much more than I have given,” said Anne. “I am very humbled by some of the people I have met here at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice. I come from a family with a long tradition of volunteering and I have worked as both a teacher and a lawyer; making a difference is very important to me. We may not all have money to give, but we all have talents and time. Volunteering teaches you to cope with many real life situations.”

Special recognition awards were also given out, including one for Recognising Outstanding Achievement to Penny Fisher who volunteers in the hospice’s Synergy Cafés for people living with dementia. Penny accepted her award on behalf of all the “amazing people” who attend the Synergy Cafes.

The awards ceremony was followed by strawberries and cream as a thank you to the volunteers.

Allison Mann, hospice director, said: “Here at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice we simply couldn’t do what we do without our wonderful volunteers. We are lucky to have more than 300 volunteers who give us their time and skills and do a variety of roles, from helping on the ward to tending the gardens and running our coffee shop.

"Thank you to all our volunteers for everything you do and for being there when it matters for patients and their families.”

To find out more about volunteering at Thorpe Hall Hospice, visit sueryder.org/volunteer or call the hospice on 01733 225 900.