We are thrilled to announce that our recent Duathlon event, in support of Dorothy House Hospice Care, was a resounding success, with participants not only reaching our ambitious goal of 847 miles but surpassing it by achieving a total of 1006.75 miles! This incredible achievement is down to the dedication, teamwork, and enthusiasm of everyone who got involved.
We couldn’t have done it without the support of our suppliers, Simply Washrooms, Aerial Direct and Bowak Ltd who all got involved and covered some miles for us!
The event brought lots of us together with one goal in mind: to challenge ourselves, have fun, and make a positive impact. Whether cycling or running, each participant gave their all, contributing to our collective distance and making this Duathlon one to remember.
Beyond hitting the target, the atmosphere was incredible. There was a real sense of community as people cheered each other on, pushed through tough moments, and celebrated the small victories along the way. Everyone played a part in this success.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all participants, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters. Your energy, commitment, and generosity made this event not only possible but exceptional. Without your involvement, we couldn’t have achieved what we did.
Our current donation total for the Duathlon challenge is £942 and we couldn’t be happier! The Dorothy House team tells us that pays for 4 nights on site care for someone; what an amazing gift to be able to give a family! We would love to reach the £1000 mark to cover 5 nights care so if you haven’t yet donated and would like to, please use the link below, it would be much appreciated.
We wanted to know more about the fantastic Dorothy House Hospice Care charity, so we asked them a few questions.
How was the charity founded?
Dorothy House is a registered charity and was founded on Christian principles in 1976 by Prue Dufour, who was a nurse at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. A woman of vision, determination and deep faith, she saw a need for care of terminally ill patients in their community, rather than in hospital.
Originally based at Prue’s home in Bath, over the years Dorothy House expanded to offer more services and education facilities, eventually moving to the current location in Winsley in 1995. Prue chose the name Dorothy House for the charity as a reflection of her Christian faith – Dorothy means ‘gift of God’.
What is Dorothy House and what do you do?
The mission at Dorothy House Hospice is to ensure that everyone has access to outstanding palliative and end of life care.
Currently, Dorothy House covers an area of approx. 800sq miles with a population of around 593,000 across Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) and parts of Wiltshire and Somerset. We estimate that we are currently caring directly for just over half of the people (approx 3,000 patients) in our area with a palliative care need.
Our care is free of charge and open to anyone with a life-limiting illness. Our patients are aged 18 and over and Dorothy House is here to help them make the most out of their life and to help them on their journey, including supporting them towards death. Additionally, they also care for patient’s families and their carers, such as through respite care and psychological support.
What do our donations do?
It costs £16.5 million to run the hospice every year. This income comes from the NHS and education contracts, Dorothy House fundraising, retail shops and legacies left in Wills. Only 20% of our overall expenditure is funded by NHS contracts, which means for every £1 from the NHS, we need to raise around another £4 to ensure our services can continue.
The income we receive allow us continue to provide services in the community and at Winsley, which include our 10 bed Inpatient Unit, for patients referred for pain management control care as well as to be cared for in their final days.
The Hospice also has a Day Patient Unit so patients can visit us for the day to access our services, such as physiotherapy and creative therapies, as well as attend group clinic wellbeing sessions, which helps to give them and their carers a break.
More services we offer include a 24/7 Advice Line for patients and families and health care professionals in the community, our hospice at home, where our healthcare assistant provide end of life care in the community, family support services, which involve adult social care and children and youth services for those who have been bereaved and spiritual support, and a companions service.
We also run Open Access Community Groups, open to anyone who wants to go, including Bereavement Help Points, Walking through Grief, Writing Hour, Coffee Connections, By Your Side, Allotments Group.
What other Dorothy House charity events are on the horizon?
There are so many in which the community can get involved and raise much needed funds for Dorothy House, which could include organising a Coffee Morning event, jumping out of a plane, or collecting a Christmas Tree. For more information on what’s coming up, check out our events calendar on our website by visiting: Events – Dorothy House
Forthcoming, on November 3, we will be holding our 36-hour Bridge the Gap crowdfunder appeal, where we will galvanise a cohort of amazing community champions to help us raise £350,000 so that we can help meet the unmet need in the community. For more information and to sign up as a Champion, visit: Bridge the Gap Appeal – Dorothy House
We’re so grateful that people and businesses in the community want to support Dorothy House, whichever way they choose to!