A charity that helps care for terminally ill people is set for a big fundraising push as their running costs could increase by half a million pounds.
St Vincent's Hospice, like many organisations, is feeling the pinch as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
They already have to raise 50 per cent of their roughly £3million running costs via the public and they’re anticipating a £500,000 increase due to the rise of energy bills and inflation generally.
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And coming off the back of a pandemic where fundraising opportunities were restricted due to covid rules, the Johnstone-based charity find themselves in a position where they’re needing to raise funds fast.
One of the ways they’re dealing with this is by rebranding to make themselves more visible.
A spokesperson from the Howwood hospice explained: “With covid having curtailed so much of our fundraising over the last two years – everything from cancelled events to being unable to undertake bucket collections- we have been much less visible than we would normally be.
“The new branding will more closely identify us as a hospice at the heart of our community and will underpin a big fundraising push this year to make up lost ground and to ensure that St Vincent’s continues to be here when patients and their families in Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire need us most – when living with a life-shortening illness and in the very last days of life.”
The money they raise goes towards supporting the Hospice’s very busy in-patient unit and their teams working in people’s homes Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire.
They are also in the process of renovating what used to be their “Barn Tearoom” to provide more space for day patients, with a whole new programme of events developing over the next 18 months.
By 2023 They hope to make this space available to local companies and community groups as a meeting space where attendees can enjoy the peaceful surroundings and garden grounds of “the little hospice with the big heart”.
The new branding features a fresh logo - a tree with heart-shaped leaves - and was launched earlier this month.
Chief executive Kirsteen Murray said: “We had incredibly positive feedback from supporters and team members who saw the new logo and strapline during their development who felt that the new branding exactly reflects what we are as an organisation – the little hospice with the big heart!”.
Chairman Eunice Muir added: “St Vincent’s Hospice has a proud history and is much loved by the communities we serve in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. The launch of the new identity represents the start of the next chapter in our development”.
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