Blue Skies Hospitals Fund’s Fundraising Administrator Hazel Preston with last year’s Book of Remembrance
Blue Skies Hospitals Fund and the Chaplaincy Team at Blackpool Victoria Hospital are inviting people to a special memorial evening which will help raise money for local bereavement care.
For many families Christmas is a very sad time of year when the loss of a loved one is particularly painful at what otherwise would have been a joyful celebration.
That’s why, each year, a reflective Christmas-themed service is held at Blackpool Victoria Hospital to help grieving families give thanks for the lives of those they have lost.
The Tree of Lights service is a comforting selection of poems and readings with some Christmas music and carols. During the event candles are lit in memory of those who have died and afterwards seasonal refreshments are served while members of the Chaplaincy Team are available to talk with relatives to offer to them their sincere condolences.
This year’s event takes place on Monday 5 December in The Restaurant at the hospital.
During the service a Book of Remembrance will also be officially opened, featuring dedications to those no longer with us. The book will remain on display in the Hospital Chapel throughout December.
Blue Skies, the charity for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has already launched its Tree of Lights Appeal where people are invited to make a donation of £5 to help enhance bereavement care across the Trust.
Last year’s appeal raised nearly £2,500, and this year the charity hopes even more will be raised to help people across Blackpool and beyond through their bereavement.
The money is spent on providing comfort packs which are given as a gift from ward staff to families who are staying alongside loved ones in their last days. These packs are hugely appreciated and include some practical items such as toiletries, snacks, a blanket and some help with the practical aspects of spending an extended time in the hospital.
Chaplaincy Team Leader, Rev Jonathan Sewell, said: “Until you have experienced the death of a loved one, it is hard to understand the total devastation of grief.
“Members of the Chaplaincy Team are available to families to be alongside them in the last hours of a loved one’s life in the hospital and to be with them after a loved one has died.
“For some families it is a brave journey to come back to the hospital where a loved one died and I hope that those who come to this service will take comfort from it, support others through their time of sadness and also through their generosity give comfort to others who are travelling the same journey.
“The service is open to anyone who wishes to attend and remember their family and friends. It does not matter whether your bereavement was recent or many years ago, or whether the person you lost was cared for at one of the local hospitals.”
If you would like to attend the Tree of Lights event or make a donation to the Tree of Lights Appeal, please request a leaflet from Blue Skies Hospitals Fund at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on 01253 957381 or email blueskies@bfwh.nhs.uk.
You can also visit www.justgiving.com/Tree-of-Lights-2016 to make a tax-efficient donation online.
The Tree of Lights event will take place on Monday 5th December at 7.30pm, in The Restaurant at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
ENDS
For further information about this Press Release, please call Rebecca Ferguson, Deputy Head of Fundraising, on 01253 957903 or email rebecca.ferguson@bfwh.nhs.uk.