Charity set up in memory of Hartlepool woman Kay Smith donates thousands to Alice House Hospice

The Kay Smith Fund continued its longstanding support of Alice House Hospice with a donation of £4,000 towards a vital service.

The donation will go towards the Counselling and Support Service at the hospice - in particular the Children’s Bereavement Service.

The Kay Smith Fund was formed as a tribute to namesake Kay, who sadly died from cancer in 2006 aged just 37.

Since then, the charity has raised money in memory of the much loved and missed Kay and has so far donated over £125,000 to Counselling and Support services at Alice House as well as further donations to other cancer related charities.

Bereavement counsellor Angela Connor, speaking on behalf of Alice House, said: “The contribution from The Kay Smith Fund has been phenomenal and continuous for over 10 years.

"It has enabled Alice House Hospice to offer a fantastic counselling service for bereaved families in Hartlepool and East Durham.

“Their support has enabled the service to offer bespoke counselling to each child that accessed it, providing vital support for their emotional wellbeing and a great legacy to Kay Smith.”

Kay Smith Fund Trustee, Mick Sumpter, along with colleagues, visited Alice House just before Christmas to present the donation.

Mick said: “It was a real pleasure to meet up with Anita and Angela from the hospice that afternoon and even a bigger treat for the Kay Smith members to hand over a cheque for £4000.

“Angela from the Children’s Bereavement Team shared some remarkable stories with us; it certainly brought home how much of an amazing job these people do, but more importantly how lucky we are to have such a valuable service in our town.

"The members of the fund have not been as active as we would like to be raising funds. However, we are all keen to get ‘back in the saddle’ in 2019 and start raising as much as we can for such a fantastic cause!”

For more information about Alice House Counselling & Support Services, contact the Counselling Team on 01429 855550 or visit: www.alicehousehospice.co.uk/patients-carers/outpatient-services/counselling-support-services/

* Alice House Hospice, based in Wells Avenue, Hartlepool, is a registered charity offering specialist palliative care to hundreds of adults from Hartlepool and East Durham each year.

Individuals who access Hospice services can be living with a variety of illnesses including Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, Motor Neurone Disease, end stage heart disease and Parkinson’s.

Each patient and their family/carers receive a tailor-made package of services to meet their physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological and cultural needs in an atmosphere of comfort and dignity.

It will cost £3.3million to continue providing the current range of services this year, yet Alice House Hospice receives only 23% government funding. The outstanding £2.5 million must be raised through the local community and other fundraising initiatives.