8 – 14 October is hospice care week and its your chance to tell us why you love Oakhaven.  We have had some great responses so far, from heart warming messages such as:

They are an amazing group of people who look after every single person they have in their care with a true heart. My dads life would be so different without them thank you xxxx

to:

I heart Oakhaven because there is a Friday Curlywurly fairy who leaves a Friday surprise for someone every week

Send us your thoughts via facebook, or email to: diane.platt@oakhavenhospice.co.uk

As you can see our little Pennington is quite excited now that the Santa Dash online entries is open.  he has started training and raising money for Oakhaven.  Did you know that if everyone taking part raised £10, it could raise £15,000 for the hospice.  For ideas, contact the fundraising team

Entries now open

Lymington will once more become a sea of red as Oakhavens much loved Santa Dash takes place once more on the 9th December, run, walk or jog the 3k course dressed as Santa.

You can enter here.

There will be opportunities to collect your suits prior to the day and we look forward to seeing you there.

Oakhavens Twenty20 Art saw over 90 pieces of original art displayed at St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery as part of the event which culminated with George Kidner of George Kidner Auctioneers and Valuers presiding over the sale on the 6^th September where 20 items went under the hammer, Will Rochfort, Michael Turner, Rosemary Welch and Stephen Lees proved popular amongst the bidders with the auction raising a staggering £9,000.

 

Each piece of art is generously donated by the artist to raise vital funds for the Hospice and we were very fortunate to have ‘Norman’ donated by local artist Jason Sullivan, which was secured by a local resident who won the stunning drawing in our envelope draw.

 

Overall the event raised a little over £9,000.00, we would like to thank Rathbones our sponsors, everyone who donated their art and those who gave their time to make this event a success helping Oakhaven make every moment matter for those we care for.

From Wednesday, you will be able to see a preview of some of our art pieces in our Oakhaven shops.  The original canvases will then be on display from Saturday at St Barbe. Check out all the details and how to email your bids at 2020Art

 

Every Friday one of our 6700 lottery players win £1000.  This weeks winner was from Lymington and lottery number was……..26702.  You could be a lucky winner if you sign up to take part.  Check out the information on our lottery pages

This week saw Charlie strutting her stuff through the hospice saying hello to patients and staff.

This beautiful handmade, patchwork quilt was generously donated in memory of a former patient. It will bring great comfort to all whose bed it graces.

Oakhaven Hospice and well-known local charity, Força – Strength Against Cancer, have joined forces to the benefit of our local community.

Since January 2016, the ‘Nourish…by força’ project has been providing meals for local people coming to Oakhaven for their chemotherapy treatment, as well as a meal to take home after their treatment. All the meals are freshly prepared on site by the Oakhaven kitchen.

More recently an additional service has been introduced, providing a meal for each of Oakhaven’s Day Hospice patients to take home to enjoy after their day at the hospice.

“Força are showing a wonderful support for local people as they go through their cancer journey” said Oakhaven Chief Executive Andrew Ryde. “The ‘Nourish…by força’ project is an amazing and thoughtful idea and we have been receiving some incredibly touching comments back from our patients to whom it is meaning so much”. The commitment from Força to our work and our local community is great and sponsorship from them for these projects is now fast approaching the £15,000 mark.”

Commenting on the project, Força treasurer Kate Chapman said: “Six years ago one of our close friends in Lymington was diagnosed with cancer. We wanted to help her out as much as we could and realised sometimes it’s the little things that can make a huge difference. Arriving home after a grueling chemotherapy session to find a home-cooked meal for the family on the doorstep was a godsend, it meant she didn’t have to worry about preparing a meal and got to use the little energy she had left after the treatment to spend time with her children and husband. The Nourish… by força project was born from this, with the aim to making a difference to the lives of local people living with cancer.”

“We are delighted that Nourish… by força has been so well-received and we are actively looking at ways that we can enhance the project further.”

After 9 years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Oakhaven Hospice Keith Mans stepped down from his role at the recent AGM and handed over the reins to Professor Paul Dodson MD, FRCP, FRCOphth. Mr Mans, who joined the board in 2004, has been Chairman during one of the most significant periods of growth and development the hospice has seen including the introduction of its Hospice at Home service, the building of The Coates Centre and the expansion of its In-Patient Unit bedrooms.

“Keith has been a wonderful leader of our board of Trustees” said Oakhaven Chief Executive Andrew Ryde. “He has overseen a considerable period of development for us and at all times throughout that has been a great ambassador for the hospice and a tower of strength and support for both his fellow Trustees and our staff and volunteers; as Chairman he very much lead from the front and has even skydived and abseiled to raise funds for us. Everyone at Oakhaven thanks him for his tireless work on our behalf and wishes him well for the future. We look forward to working with our new Chairman who brings a wealth of experience to the board”.

Professor Dodson has been a Trustee since 2015 and Vice Chairman for the last 12 months. He qualified at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, UK, in 1974 and spent his early years training at Southampton General Hospital and the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. He returned to St. Bartholomew’s and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London in 1979 to research diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and retinopathy, which led to his MD. He was appointed Consultant Physician in 1989 in Birmingham and practised general medicine, diabetes and latterly medical ophthalmology, was one of the founders of the diabetic eye screening programme in the UK and currently provides courses, education and external quality assurance for the screening programme. He has international interests with consultancy for diabetic retinopathy screening in Singapore, Australia, Ireland and Ethiopia. He was appointed Hon Professor in the Dept of Health & Life Sciences at Aston University, Birmingham and to the Black Lions University in Addis Abiba in 2008. He has published extensively in major peer review journals as well as books on diabetes, lipids, hypertension and clinical retinopathies. He will therefore bring a clinical focus to the board as Chairman and continue to promote excellence in end of life and palliative care in Oakhaven’s services to the community.

“It has been a privilege to lead the board of Trustees through this amazing period of growth and development of our services” said Mr Mans. “I wish Paul all the best as he takes over as Chairman I know he will do an excellent job and I am sure it will be a tremendous asset for Oakhaven to have someone with a clinical background as its Chairman for what in fact will be the first time in our 25 years history”.

Also stepping down at the AGM was Joanna Oswin who has been a Trustee since 2002. “Joanna has been an enthusiastic Trustee and another wonderful ambassador for the hospice” said Mr Ryde. “She has been especially supportive of our fundraising and the fundraising team. Alongside a hard working committee she was instrumental in growing our Bike & Hike event over many years which raised in excess of £350,000 as well as making significant contributions to many other fundraising initiatives. We thank her for her time as a Trustee and wish her well for the future”

The Oakhaven volunteer gardening team were looking for a couple of large urn style planters and plants to brighten up the hospice north garden outside The Coates Centre. After a phone call from Oakhaven’s Trusts and Business Support Fundraiser David Watson it was well-known local garden centre Fairweathers of Beaulieu who quickly offered to help.
“This was a fabulous gesture from Fairweathers” commented David. “Fairweathers have been great supporters of our hospice down the years and we are truly grateful for that support. Commenting on the donation Fairweathers Plant Area Manager Sue Greaves said “As a regular supporter of Oakhaven Hospice, we were asked if we could provide pots and plants for a north facing area of their gardens, to be planted by the volunteers. We chose camellias, gaultheria, heucheras, ferns and pansies. We hope that the pots and plants will be a delight for everyone to look at”.