40 Faces of hospice care – 15 – Meet Veronica McBain, Head of Fundraising and Lottery

Categories: People & Places.

By her own admission, Head of Fundraising and Lottery Veronica walked through the doors eleven years ago, knowing little about Hospice care. But she had an appetite for fundraising and boundless energy. Even after more than a decade leading our fundraising team, she’s still driven daily by the difference they make to hospice care.

Veronica has played a key role in making our care possible year after year. Just three years after she joined us, she led her team to dizzying new heights and doubled fundraised income to raise £1m! An ambitious fundraising programme, a more developed marketing team and the introduction of new ways to reach supporters paid off.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Veronica set her sights on ‘the next big thing’. The St Barnabas Colour Dash in 2015 broke all records and raised over £125,000 in its first year – becoming the most successful fundraising event in our history. In fact, through developing the event alongside Lincoln-based business Running Imp, Veronica and the team established a blueprint for hospices up and down the country, helping them run their own Colour Dash events to support hospice care across the UK.

It’s fair to say Veronica never stops! But even she has her limits. So when she came across a new, novel way to remember loved ones, she shelved it. That was until she built a team dedicated to helping more people remember family and friends with St Barnabas. With Veronica’s backing and support, the team brought our ironworks appeal to life. First there were forget-me-nots, followed by dragonflies and then hearts, all beautifully handcrafted locally for people to own and dedicate in memory of a loved one. It was another hugely successful initiative that continues to go from strength to strength, just like Veronica and her team.

Even on maternity leave, she didn’t miss an opportunity and set the ball rolling for St Barnabas’ first-ever gin blend. It turns out it was the one fundraising idea that benefitted from the Covid-19 lockdowns, with most sales made during those months!

It’s not all strategy and ideas for Veronica though. She’s trekked across Jordan for us, dressed as Mrs Claus, sang and danced in Lincoln High Street, and is always at the front of the queue to get her hands dirty in the name of fundraising. Yet she’s always quick to acknowledge that she couldn’t have done any of it on her own. Maybe not, but her drive and dedication are the heart of it all.

In her own words…

“From then Director of Fundraising, Neil Paulger, who took a chance on me, to our former CEO Sarah-Jane Mills, who inspired me in those early years, to the volunteers who set firm fundraising foundations for the Hospice and my dedicated team that makes anything possible. Every one of them has been integral to what I’ve achieved for the Hospice, and I can’t thank them enough.”

To see all 40 Faces and their stories, please visit: https://stbarnabashospice.co.uk/40faces

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ehospice UK edition, Editors Note:

This is the fifteenth in a series of 40 articles celebrating the founders, staff members, volunteers and supporters who have helped contribute to the vital care St Barnabas Hospice, Lincoln, provides to those living with a life-limiting or terminal illness and their families. 

These stories will find parallels across all other hospices around the UK. If you wish to share your news/stories/blogs then please send them to info@ehospice.com. 

To register for the weekly ehospice newsletter which brings together stories from around the world please go to: https://ehospice.com/register/

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St Barnabas Hospice is a local independent charity, and every year they support more than 10,500 people across Lincolnshire.

They deliver free, high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care and support to people living with a life-limiting or terminal illness, their family and carers.

St Barnabas offers the patient and their family hospice care and support via: specialist inpatient care, care at home, day therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, complementary therapy, welfare advice and bereavement support.

All the services are free. St Barnabas needs to raise over £6m a year to provide its support and care. Over 900 volunteers play a crucial role in the charity’s success.

www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk

 

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