St Helena

16/04/2026

You may have seen Lucy and her mum Hazel being interviewed on BBC Look East news last night and heard the lovely story of a special celebration at the hospice.

Lucy and Aaron will be getting married later this year and they wanted to make sure Hazel could be part of their precious wedding memories. They held a ring blessing in the hospice garden where proud mum and dad, Hazel and Denny, and family and friends could all be together to share this beautiful moment 🧡

Thank you to the happy couple for sharing their gorgeous photos 📸

15/04/2026

Today we joined other hospices across the country in Westminster to call for fair funding for hospices.

Kate, Co-Chief Executive, and Kirsty, Hospice Matron, were part of a Day of Action organised by which included delivering a letter to the Prime Minister and highlighting to MPs the reality of the national funding crisis.

Back at the hospice, BBC Look East visited us to interview Karen, Co-Chief Executive, along with one of our families, to report on the local funding picture now that we are financially stable having, sadly, reduced our clinical services and made redundancies last summer.

You can watch the news report at 6.30pm this evening or later on the iPlayer, along with today's lunchtime news which also featured us.

14/04/2026

Have you ever thought about fundraising for St Helena Hospice?

There are many ways you can make a difference by fundraising, whether that’s as an individual, at work, at school, as a social group or with friends and family.

If you are keen to fundraise for St Helena Hospice, we can provide you with all the guidance you need.

If you already have a fundraiser planned or you’d like some advice, we’d love to hear from you.

📩fundraising@sthelena.org.uk

12/04/2026

Over the last few months we have been investing in equipment and flooring for our inpatient unit and treatment rooms, medical equipment, catering equipment, IT software and hardware, new furniture, expanding our car park, improving our plumbing and many other projects, thanks to almost £950,000 from the government capital funding scheme through Hospice UK.

We have even bought two hybrid electric vehicles to enable our community teams to visit patients at home in a more environmentally friendly and cost efficient way 💚

Thanks to this money, we have been able to pay for building works and equipment that will improve the environment and experience for patients, their visitors, staff and volunteers at St Helena.

While we would love to have spent the money on our clinical services, we were only allowed to spend it on capital items and digital infrastructure. But spend it we did!

11/04/2026

The Queen Mother visited Colchester 40 years ago today on 11th April 1986 to officially open St Helena Hospice.

We opened our doors on 20th May 1985 to our first patient, 22 year old Lisa Brenchley, butthe Royal visit came almost a year later.

Lisa’s parents Brian and Shirley Brenchley, were introduced to the royal visitor at the opening ceremony. Brian remembers:

“Almost a year after Lisa died at the Hospice, we were asked to go to the opening ceremony and we were chosen to be presented to the Queen Mother, which was nice. My wife and I had tea with her. She was a charming lady, she was lovely.

“I was chatting away, I couldn’t stop talking, I was so overwhelmed! I always remember I couldn’t praise the Hospice enough because of the treatment we had and I wanted to make sure that she knew what a great job they had done for Lisa." 🧡

Read more heritage stories from people who were at the hospice that day sthelena.org.uk/queen-mother-visit

10/04/2026

Massive congratulations to the lucky winners this week who play to support us! 👏

Your regular support helps fund our care for those who need us most. 🧡

Next week's rollover is an amazing £24,000! Click the link below to get your tickets to be in with a chance to win this incredible prize!
👉 https://bit.ly/3Q1Ol3A

It's a St Helena take over this Friday!! 🤩

Huge congratulations to number 25585 who won £1,000, and number 39990 who won £200! Both playing to support St Helena 👏

Are you one of our lucky £10 or £5 winners?

Click the link below to find out!
https://bit.ly/3xuTsTq

Huge thank you to our incredible supporters, we couldn't do it without you! ❤️

Next week's rollover is a staggering £24,000! 🤩
18+ Gamble Aware T&Cs apply
Arthur Rank Hospice Charity Cransley Hospice Trust Cynthia Spencer Hospice Halton Haven Hospice KEMP Hospice Salisbury Hospice Charity Noah's Ark Children's Hospice Nottinghamshire Hospice Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity St Helena Wisdom Hospice Charity Weldmar Hospicecare Zoe's Place Baby Hospice Coventry Zoe's Place Baby Hospice Middlesbrough

10/04/2026

Hospice care is there for when people need it most, to bring comfort, dignity and support when it truly matters.

Viv our patient shared:

“I’m not scared of the word hospice anymore. I should embrace it because it’s giving me the best quality of life possible.”

Stories like Viv’s remind us that hospice care isn’t about fear, it’s about reassurance, humanity and making every moment count.

Hospice care provides compassion, respect, and support for you and for the people you love.

09/04/2026

Looking for a way to do something meaningful in 2026? Why not take on a challenge and fundraise for St Helena Hospice!

Whether it’s cycling, climbing a mountain, running a marathon, skydiving, or creating your own challenge, every step, mile or jump helps raise vital funds for local people and their families facing incurable illness, dying and bereavement.

Taking on a challenge is a great way to push yourself, bring friends or colleagues together, and make a real difference in your community.

Email our fundraising team at fundraising@sthelena.org.uk for more information.

06/04/2026

Thank you ❤️

A massive thank you to the 906 people who gave up their time to support St Helena Hospice last year.

Whether you helped in with our admin, complementary therapy, catering, counselling, couriers, fundraising, gardeners, maintenance, reception, retail, spiritual care and more.

However you helped us across the charity, you are so valued and appreciated.

05/04/2026

Wishing you peace, love and precious moments from all at St Helena Hospice 🧡

03/04/2026

Thank you to everyone who delivered Easter eggs to us - you are all eggs-cellent! 🐣

The eggs have been shared amongst our patients, their families and children we support, bringing smiles and joy ahead of the Easter weekend.

A special thank you to Trina at Three Counties Crematorium Essex , Mark at David Watson Transport Ltd , Bethany and Ted from recruitment agency MacKenzie King , and the team at Stansted Airport Fire and Rescue Service for your eggs-iting deliveries!

02/04/2026

Kieran and Courtney had their beautiful wedding blessing today at the hospice in the company of their family and friends 🧡

Tim from our spirituality team led the ceremony in the hospice lounge, which had been decorated by nursing staff for the special occasion. After the service, more precious memories were made as the couple and their loved ones enjoyed their time together over a delicious cake and some bubbles.

Love conquers all 🧡