Keech Hospice Care, a Bedfordshire-based hospice charity, has installed a new Memory Tree at their Luton hospice site.
The Memory Tree is a way for people to pay tribute to loved ones through having a name or short personal message engraved on one of the hand-crafted tree’s bronze, silver or gold leaves.
The first names to adorn the tree were those of ten very special people who worked at Keech over the years.
Liz Searle, CEO of Keech Hospice Care, explains why the decision was taken to remember the team members in this way:
“Remembering those who were so special to us is important to keep their memory alive and also to provide comfort to those still here, who miss them every single day.
Our colleagues, to whom we pay lasting tribute on the Memory Tree, made an enormous difference to many people’s lives, whether it was patients and their families or their colleagues, or both, and we want to remember them for their hard work, selflessness and the incredible impact they had on so many.”
Joining the names of those who meant so much to Keech are loved ones of members of the public, whether they were supported by Keech or not – the Memory Tree has been made available to everyone.
Leaves can be sponsored for monthly donations from £10. Sponsors are sent a photograph of their memory leaf with their engraved message and can visit the tree at the hospice whenever they like, to remember their loved one.
“The Memory Tree has pride of place in Valerie’s, our on-site restaurant,” continues Liz. “It’s the perfect place, as it means that team members taking a break can remember the times they shared with much-loved, late colleagues. It’s brought back a lot of great memories.”
More information on Keech Hospice Care’s memory tree and leaf sponsorship can be found here: https://keech.org.uk/memory-
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Keech Hospice Care provides free, specialist care and support for adults in Luton and south Bedfordshire, and for children in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes who are living with a life-limiting illness. Care is provided from the hospice sites in Luton and Bedford and also in patients’ own homes, hospitals, schools and wherever support is needed the most.
Keech Hospice Care has a retail portfolio that includes 38 shops across the region and over 1500 volunteers and 260 + staff. Keech Hospice Care is in the Best Companies Top 100 UK list, rated outstanding to work for, and is also rated Outstanding for caring with CQC. Last year Keech Hospice Care supported over 2,500 adults, children and their families.
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