John Lewis at home helps local hospice to bloom

At the beginning of week the new John Lewis at home shop welcomed a group of volunteer ‘flower ladies’ from Hospice in the Weald to select a range of vases that the retailer is donating to the charity.

The vases will be used by the ‘flower ladies’ to display beautiful blooms in the patients’ rooms of the Pembury-based hospice. A team of 20 dedicated volunteers work in shifts year-round to arrange the hospice’s daily flower donations to provide a ‘homely’ atmosphere and lift the mood for patients, visitors and staff alike.

Serving a population of nearly 300,000 in West Kent and East Sussex, Hospice in the Weald provides free specialist palliative care for patients with cancer and a variety of life limiting illnesses, including Motor Neurone Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and heart failure. In addition to the In-Patient Unit, the hospice runs a Day Therapy Centre providing clinics, treatments and complementary therapies and has a Community Team of Clinical Nurse Specialists who are part of a new Hospice in the Home service.

Gabby Armstrong, branch manager at John Lewis at home Tunbridge Wells, said: “It was a pleasure to meet the ‘flower ladies’ and staff from Hospice in the Weald today.   After they selected the vases, we took the ladies on a tour of the new shop and finished with tea and cake in the café. We hope these vases will complement their beautiful flower arrangements and make a small but important contribution to the hospice by lifting the spirits of patients and their families.

“I’ve experienced first-hand the high levels of personal care the hospice gives to its patients and their families. When my father was ill it was an incredibly difficult time, however the support we received from the staff at Hospice in the Weald was amazing and made it so much easier to deal with, and for that I’ll always be truly grateful.”

Rob Woolley, Chief Executive of Hospice in the Weald, commented: “I’m delighted with the donation of vases to our patients’ rooms. As a charity rooted in the community, we are indebted to the generosity of local businesses like the new John Lewis at Home shop in Tunbridge Wells – their support is invaluable. 

“We need to raise over £4 million each and every year to fund our vital services and our volunteers play a huge role in achieving this; whether it is by our wonderful ‘flower ladies’ providing beauty and upliftment, or through the many others who work in our charity shops, Hospice departments and services."