I thought it would be a good idea if I gave a round up of what your Executive Committee have been discussing, and what issues are concerning us at present.
The main thing on our mind is money!

It costs about £240,000 per annum, or £20,000 per month, to run the Hospice and our income is not matching that. At present we receive £36,000 from the Health Care Trust, the shop raises about £45,000, and donations, (from individuals and events) have been about £90,000 per annum. This leaves a shortfall (of about £70,000) and most months we are having to top up this shortfall from our reserves to pay our running costs. We have been very fortunate to have reserves so that we can do this, but our reserves are being eaten up rapidly and we need to really address this issue.

We are in contact with the Health Care Trust about increasing funding from them, as their grant to us has remained static whilst our numbers and costs have steadily increased. We provide a service that not only gives the people of Tynedale a better quality of life, but it also saves the Trust a considerable amount of money, through savings in the ambulance service and savings in keeping people at home instead of in hospital. We are also planning on meeting our MP to seek his assistance in our negotiations with the trust. As our treasurer, Miles said we are victims of our own success but the financial situation is very worrying.

The shop is a valuable source of income for us, and we are very grateful for the volunteers who help run it, and to the people of Tynedale who keep it so well stocked. We think they like it as it is a truly local charity. We are also grateful to Jamie Lewis for helping us re-organise the shop earlier this year, which increased our takings. 
We are very dependant on donations, and over the years we have had many fund-raising events, such as treks and summer balls, as well as coffee mornings, raffles etc. This year we are planning a major fund-raising effort throughout July. We have had postcards printed to be delivered to houses throughout Tynedale, these postcards explain our services and seek support. We have also produced a new leaflet, about leaving us a legacy in a will, which has been distributed throughout the area. 
In addition we are planning street collections in July, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, in Hexham and Corbridge. Anyone can help, we will give you a tin and a handful of postcards and we know from past experience that the public are very responsive to our cause. The office can supply a list of 'slots' when we need help, so please let Christine, Lorraine or Liz know if you are able to collect, just for one and a half hours, or if you are able to distribute postcards in your neighbourhood.

We have attached details of our monthly giving scheme. If we could get 1,000 people to donate £5.00 each month our financial worries would be over, so we are hoping that this idea will really take off. If you wish to help just complete form and return to TCH.
We have recently set up a fund-raising sub committee, and they have a lot of exciting ideas for developing our contacts with communities, and fund-raising projects, and if you felt able to assist they would be very pleased to hear from you.

We were very pleased that we were able to say 'thank you' to volunteers at an evening at Hexham racecourse on 4th June, courtesy of Major Enderby, our Patron, and we had a lovely time being pampered by the therapists and eating delicious home made cakes, flans and cream scones and samples from Waitrose. Liz is planning another get together for volunteers later this summer, and we'll have more details of this later. 
Jane Hastings
June 2008