It’s Lilian Kearsley’s 80th birthday and she’s spending the day at one of her favourite places: Wigan and Leigh Hospice.
Lilian is one of the charity’s longest serving volunteers, with an impressive 27 years of service at the hospice’s base in Hindley.
After a busy morning shift answering phones on reception, she finally takes some time to have a cup of tea and slice of birthday cake.
“Everyone here is so kind and friendly,” Lilian tells Borough Life. “You really are part of the team.”
The hospice opened in 1983 and offers care for those who have been diagnosed with a life limiting illness, and support for their families and friends.
Over the years, Lilian, who lives in Hindley, has taken on different roles including supporting events, visiting patients, secretarial tasks, and helping with activities such as card making and flower arranging classes.
“I love being able to speak with the patients. Being here is also a good reminder that there are often people who might be in a more difficult situation than you are.
“If I’m worrying about having backache or this and that, I come here, and it can help put my problems into perspective.”
Lilian’s husband, a Methodist minister, who had originally introduced her to the hospice when he was a chaplain there, has been diagnosed with dementia.
“I like how peaceful it is here,” she adds. “Especially in the gardens. It’s a place where I can come just for me, to get a bit of peace and independence.
“Things have changed a lot since I first started volunteering here, but it’s always meant so much to me.”
Wigan and Leigh Hospice relies on more than 400 volunteers like Lilian.
Around 300 work in the charity’s 10 shops, but there is always a wide range of roles available.
Care is taken to match a volunteer’s skills or interests with the right option for them, whether that is supporting the IT team, or helping to maintain the beautiful gardens.
Joan Rosen, from Abram, has been a volunteer at Wigan and Leigh Hospice for two years.
“Being a volunteer is also very freeing because I’m choosing to be here. That’s not to say I don’t work hard, sometimes the staff have to tell me to go home! But I’m doing it for me, so it feels different to having a job.
“Some people think of hospices as being places where people go to die, so they assume it will be miserable, but it’s not like that. It’s a beautiful place with lots of kindness. Volunteering here has changed my life.”
“I’ve always been a do-er and one day I was driving to the shops, and I saw the sign for the hospice and decided to call in and ask if they needed any volunteers. I'm so glad I did.
“I used to be a boss, I used to make big decisions in work, but as you get older and everything changes, you start to think you’re useless at everything. Being here has given me my confidence back. It’s completely changed the way I think and feel.”
Joan largely supports the fundraising team, who need to generate £12,000 per day to fund the services the hospice offers.
“I realised I could help the fundraising team with practical tasks, so that they could focus on bigger projects. So, I do anything that’s needed, from putting things in envelopes, to helping at events, but I’m very much treated as an important part of the team.
“Being a volunteer is also very freeing because I’m choosing to be here. That’s not to say I don’t work hard, sometimes the staff have to tell me to go home! But I’m doing it for me, so it feels different to having a job.
“Some people think of hospices as being places where people go to die, so they assume it will be miserable, but it’s not like that. It’s a beautiful place with lots of kindness. Volunteering here has changed my life.”
Could you give a helping hand to the hospice?
The hospice team provides a variety of services including:
- Community hospice nurse specialists, assess a patient’s needs in their home and offer specialist advice.
- Hospice in your home, offer one-to-one visits as well as practical and emotional support to patients and loved ones.
- The inpatient care unit with individual rooms, overlooking the beautiful gardens in Hindley.
- Counselling and complementary therapy sessions at the Woodview Centre in Hindley – this includes support for families and friends.
- Education and training for health and social care professionals in Wigan Borough.
To find out more about the hospice go to Wigan and Leigh Hospice (external link).
If you would like to get more information about being a volunteer at Wigan and Leigh Hospice, email v@wlh.org.uk or call 01942 525566.
You do not need any specific skills or qualifications but should be compassionate, caring, and respectful. Volunteering hours can be flexible depending on how much time a volunteer can offer.