The Shakespeare Hospice, a Warwickshire-based charity, supports those with life limiting illnesses. A £500 grant from the Youell Family Fund has provided funding towards their services, which include the provision of care and support to their patients with Multiple Sclerosis.
Last month saw Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness week, MS is an autoimmune condition that affects the immune system and starts to attack the brain and spinal cord. It’s a condition with no cure, but there are treatments that can help manage the condition along with its symptoms.
Awarded to the Hospice during MS Awareness Week, the £500 grant will aid the Community Neurological Team in offering support, strategies and advice to individuals who suffer with MS and their families.
Simon Batten, Trusts and Grants Manager at The Shakespeare Hospice, explained:
“We were able to benefit individuals who have been diagnosed with MS, and their families, through symptom and fatigue management, advice on reducing risk of falls, optimise engagement, completing everyday activities, improve mobility including referral to wheelchair services. We also provide psychological support and signpost to community services that can support with many things such as advice on benefit entitlements.”
A relative of a patient added:
“The Hospice provided magnificent care to my mum and support to us, her family. Without them we would not have been able to look after her at home.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, support from grant-giving charities has been more crucial for organisations to continue providing their services. Simon continued:
“The impact of COVID-19 created a lot of uncertainty and affected our ability to generate funds through trading and fundraising, at the same time demand for our services has continued to increase. The Hospice needs over £2.1m a year to provide these services and only receives an 11% contribution from the NHS. We rely on the generosity of our community and supporters to fund the remaining 89%.
“We greatly appreciated how quickly the Heart of England Community Foundation responded to this crisis by creating greater flexibility for charities to make applications and receive the funding almost immediately.”
The Shakespeare Hospice has had a long-standing relationship with the Youell Family and has benefitted from funding from the Youell Foundation for many years. Simon added:
“It’s thanks to supporters like the Youell family that we are able to continue providing specialist care and support to some of the most vulnerable people now, and into the future. Thank you!”
If you’d like to apply for funding please view our Available Grants here.