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Havens Hospices

In 2009 I ran the London Marathon on behalf of Havens Hospices and raised over £2000.

Havens Hospices incorporates Fair Havens Hospice and Little Havens Children’s Hospice. Located in Southend, Essex, Fair Havens opened in 1983 and has since cared for over 18,000 patients and their families. Little Havens opened 15 years later and has helped 900 children and their families since then.

I first came across Fair Havens when my girlfriend Laura’s Grandfather was taken there after a 2 week stay in hospital. It was clear to her family that he was unable to go home as his health was deteriorating, but they didn’t want him to spend his last days stuck in a hospital bed in an overcrowded ward. Peter spent just over a week in the care of Fair Havens nurses before he passed away on the 14th October 2008.

The Provost family could not fault the care that Peter received in his last few days of life. Every member of staff at the hospice not only looked after him and made sure he was comfortable, but also looked out for the family, many of whom spent day and night there to spend as much time with him.

Haven’s Hospices rely almost entirely on donations from the public to keep on caring for adults and children who for whatever reason cannot be cared for at home or who need respite care. By me raising just a fraction of the cost to run the Hospices for a year I feel I’m helping another family access the care that Peter and his family received.

Some key facts about Fair Havens

  • Fair Havens costs £2.6 million a year to run
  • 72% of their funding comes from charitable donations
  • Fair Havens covers the whole of Southend, Castle Point and Rochford in Essex
  • It costs £14.50 an hour to care for a patient within our eight bedded In-Patient Unit
  • We have eleven Fair Havens Macmillan Nurses, one of which is funded by Macmillan, five are funded by local PCT’s and the rest are paid for by Fair Havens.
  • In 2007 our In-Patient Unit cared for over 250 patients, 107 patients went home.

Some key facts about Little Havens

  • Little Havens costs £2.1 million a year to run

  • 81% of their funding comes from charitable donations
  • Little Havens covers the whole of Essex and parts of London
  • It costs £14.50 an hour to care for a child within our In-Patient Unit
  • Little Havens has a Home-Respite Service offering care for children in their own home
  • It is estimated that over 20,000 families across the UK have a child with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness
  • Little Havens care and services are offered to families free of charge, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
  • Little Havens has a Teacher within the Care Team – ensuring that structured planning for each child’s educational needs are met.

Visit the Havens Hospices Website.

Move Europe

In 2008 I did a 500km challenge for move which I completely smashed. I was introduced to the charity through a university friend who currently works there. I know how much they struggle with funding and try to ensure whenever I do bits and bobs for charity I look at Move. To date I have raised over £200 for Move as well as currently being involved with redevelopment of their website.

MOVE Europe is a small charity working with parents, teachers, therapists and care teams across the UK and Europe to help to give children and adults more opportunities and possibilities for independent movement through the MOVE Programme. In turn this can help to develop their cognitive and communication skills, and it can also improve health and social inclusion.