THE hospice is on the lookout for volunteers who would like to take on the responsibility of looking after a specific area of the hospice.o

The fundraising office is a very busy and lively one and often in need of a spring, autumn and winter clean.

Although not a dirty area, bins are frequently filled and desk tops are sometimes used for stacking until a 'free' moment occurs for staff to store the items in our stock rooms.

Help to file away our goods on a regular basis would be very much appreciated. Perhaps you may want to care for the Sanctuary, our non-denominational quiet room.

Various wooden surfaces would benefit from regular polishing and the flower arrangements resited.

A regular weekly commitment would be invaluable. Interested? Please ring Julie Hewlett on 01279 413590.

The splendid new Theydon Bois village hall was the venue for an event held by the Loughton Friends of St Clare Hospice.

Theydon Bois Drama Society staged an Old Time Music Hall show which provided an evening of music and melodrama to an appreciative full house and £800 was raised for the hospice.

St Clare chief executive Brian Hilton was present and gave an insight into the many valuable services provided by the hospice.

As a registered charity, St Clare ensures that 85p from every £1 raised goes directly towards the care of our patients. I believe this to be a very comforting thought when, often, donors giving to charities wonder about the percentage given to the specific needs of the charity.

When gifts are sent to the hospice, most donors, those who are tax payers, are requested to have their donations gift aided. This enables a further 28p in every £1 to be claimed back in tax for the hospice. This amount can be quite a substantial sum when collected in over the year.

We are most grateful to all the supporters who have responded to our gift aid requests and returned the simple but necessary form.

Peggy, the manager of the hospice shop off Edinburgh Way, Harlow, now has the facility to collect, for recycling, your used empty toner and ink jet cartridges from your home computers.

Not only will this help the environment but also the hospice will receive money in return for them. If you are unsure whether your computer equipment is the correct kind, ring Peggy on 01279 639760.

A recent winner of the St Clare Hospice lottery wrote to us and said how the news had brightened an otherwise very stressful day.

The lady's daughters insist on her spending it on herself and she hopes to fulfil a long-term wish to visit Iceland with the winnings.

Coincidentally, her eldest daughter won the very first lottery draw and the family are now hoping that the youngest daughter will become a winner too, making a hat-trick!

Thank you to the facilities department at Motability for their donation to buy sweets and biscuits. The kind gesture was very much appreciated.

A big thank you to the ladies who responded to our pleas for cakes and mince pies for the many events over the year. A large amount of mince pies was consumed when our network of volunteers were invited to a get-together at the hospice recently.

Staff took turns to ply them with sherry and mince pies as a thank you for their support and help. A letter received from the High Sheriff of Essex was read out reiterating the importance and value of volunteers and their contribution to the hospice which he saw first hand on his recent visit.

Finally, from everyone at St Clare, season's greetings and a very happy and healthy New Year to all our readers and supporters. A date for your diary has to be January 19, for our January sale of bargains at the hospice in Hastingwood Road, between 10am and 3pm. Admission 50p.

December 20, 2001 9:05