St Catherine's Hospice, Lancashire

04/12/2025

💚 Thank You Thursday 💚

We’ve had some lovely visitors and acts of kindness this week and here are just a few to celebrate.

🚜 J Charnley & Sons - Thank you to Vicky and Hannah, who popped into the hospice with a fantastic donation of £186.74. They raised the money at the Lancashire Show by inviting people to guess how many balloons they could squeeze into a tractor cab. We love a creative fundraiser!

📚 Asda Clayton Green - Thanks to Jo, the store’s brilliant Community Champion, for an amazing donation of books. These help us keep our shops and book tables topped up and they always fly off the shelves.

🎄 Ian Mitchell - It was wonderful to see the incredibly talented Ian again. He brought in this year’s hand-crafted crib and nativity scene, made from recycled Beech, Mahogany and Pine. We’ll be raffling off this beautiful piece soon, tickets are available now at Reception.

🇮🇪 Achill Island Community - Joe and Rachel want to send a heartfelt thank you to the Achill Island community, especially James and Marie and the Dookinella Pipe Band, for 25 years of continued support. Thanks also to Tommy and Pauline, Stephen and Ethel, and M&M Acquisitions, MAC Civils Ltd, Flannery Plant Hire & Groundshore Ltd for their generosity over the years. Your kindness means more than you know.

🎨 Deborah Parkinson - Thank you to the very crafty Deborah for her fabulous diamond art Christmas card donation! These beautiful cards are available from reception, with all donations going to support the hospice.

Thank you to everyone who thinks of us, your kindness helps us to be here for local people and families when they need us most.

03/12/2025

💚 National Grief Awareness Week (2-8 December)

Grief can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to face it alone.

We offer six bereavement support sessions across our communities - open to anyone in our communities, whether you have a connection to the hospice or not.

At the hospice (Garden Room):
• Second Wednesday of the month, 1.30pm–3pm
• Third Thursday of the month, 6pm–7.30pm

Peer-led support in the community:
• West Preston (Ingol)
• East Preston (Ribbleton) – Wednesday 4th December, 10am-11.30am at Rothwell Hall. January’s session will take place on Thursday 8th January due to the New Year’s Day clash
• Gregson Lane – Wednesday 4th December, 1pm-2.30pm at Trinity Church, but January’s session will take place on Thursday 8th January due to the New Year’s Day clash
• Chorley
Please see our website for individual times and dates: https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/events/

These gentle, welcoming spaces offer time to talk, share experiences, or simply be with others who understand. 💚

02/12/2025

Christmas can be a tough time for many. Light Up a Life is a celebration of the life of our loved ones who we miss dearly, as our colleague Nikee explains. https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/support-us/light-up-a-life/

02/12/2025

🕯️ Thank you for helping us Light Up a Life

We were honoured to welcome so many of you to our Light Up a Life ceremonies on Sunday and Monday evening.

The park was aglow with lights and shared memories as our community come together to remember loved ones at this meaningful time of the year. Thank you to everyone who made a dedication and joined us for these special evenings.

Our lights will continue to shine in the hospice gardens throughout the festive season, and you can still view the Remembrance Book in the Reflection Room or online. There's still time to remember a loved one and add their name, make your dedication at: https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/support-us/light-up-a-life/

The last update of the remembrance book for this year will happen on 1st February 2026.

Your support helps us continue providing care to local families when they need us most 💚

Special thanks to dia-images photography for the wonderful pictures from the evenings.

02/12/2025

01/12/2025

Santa’s checking his list one last time — beard ✔ suit ✔ trainers ✔ … and there’s one more: Book your spot!

It’s your last chance to grab a Santa Dash place online before tomorrow at 9pm.

Don’t let Santa dash off without you this Sunday. It’s the not to be missed family festive event of the year.

👉 https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/shop/events/hospice-fundraising/santa-dash/

30/11/2025

🎄Last chance to enter our Christmas Raffle is approaching!

🎁 Be in with the chance of winning some amazing cash prizes this festive season – including a top prize of £4,000! 💰

Tickets are just £2 each, and every ticket you buy helps support the care we provide here at St Catherine’s Hospice for local people and their loved ones.

It’s a simple way to spread some Christmas cheer, and you never know, you might have an extra special reason to celebrate this year!

👉 Get your raffle tickets here: https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/support-us/raffles/enter-our-christmas-raffle/

29/11/2025

If you’ve ever walked through our hospice gardens in winter, you’ll know the feeling.

It’s peaceful. Quiet. Each light glowing softly in memory of someone loved and missed.

Light Up a Life has been part of St Catherine’s for decades. And this year, as we celebrate 40 years of care, those lights feel more meaningful than ever.

Every dedication helps us care for others with the same compassion we’ve shared since the beginning.

So this Christmas, take a moment. Remember someone special. And let their light shine on. 💚

Make your dedication: https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/support-us/light-up-a-life/

You can also join us on Sunday 30th November and Monday 1st December, 5pm-7.30pm, at the hospice when we’ll be switching this year’s lights on: https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/shop/events/hospice-fundraising/light-up-a-life-dedication-evening-sunday-1st-december-2024/

28/11/2025

It’s Santa vs Team St Catherine’s! 🏁🎅

He’s been training hard – from star jumps to sprints – but can he keep up with our staff? 👀💪

Join the fun, pull on your suit, and dash with us this December! 🎄

👉 Sign up today: https://www.stcatherines.co.uk/shop/events/hospice-fundraising/santa-dash/

27/11/2025

💚 Thank You Thursday 💚

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported St Catherine’s this week. Your kindness makes a difference to those we care for, in this, our 40th anniversary year.

🎉 Envirocare Ground Maintenance - A massive thank you to the Envirocare team, who raised an incredible £7,000 at their 20th Anniversary Gala! It was a pleasure for our team to join you on such a special evening.

🎶 St Catherine’s Choir - Well done and thank you to our wonderful choir for raising a fantastic £1,000 — enough to fund a brand-new syringe driver for our inpatient unit. Your voices really do make a difference.

🍬 Anne Garlick - Our amazing regular sweet-maker Anne popped in with another fabulous festive delivery! Thank you so much, Anne, for your continued support. We appreciate you more than you know.

🏏 Caroline & Grimsargh Cricket Club - A big thank you to Caroline and everyone at Grimsargh Cricket Club for organising the annual Billy’s Big Bash in memory of Chris, raising a brilliant £1,250.

26/11/2025

We recently had the joy of celebrating a very special milestone at our St Catherine's Shops Leyland shop. Marian Hilton, one of our wonderful volunteers, turned 90 years old on 3rd November, and has been helping out at the shop for an incredible 30 years!

Marian told us: “I look forward to coming on a Tuesday afternoon. It's a really nice, happy and friendly atmosphere and I love speaking to different people. I enjoy everything about it.”

Her positivity, dedication, and warmth have brightened our shop and touched countless visitors over the decades. It was lovely to mark her birthday and long service with a small celebration, though we think Marian deserves a huge cheer for everything she does!

💚 Thank you, Marian, for your decades of kindness and commitment. You make a difference every single day.

25/11/2025

Time for a pre Christmas clear out?

Our donation van will be on the hospice car park Thursday 4th December, 9am-11am, ready to collect your pre-loved items.

Clear out what you’re never going to use and support St Catherine's at the same time!

We're looking for new and good quality:
• Gift sets
• Clothing
• Accessories
• Homeware
• Books
• Bric-a-brac

Every donation helps us continue providing vital care to local families. Thank you for your support