Landmarks across Forth Valley are bathed in blue this week (W/C 5th January) to mark the 45th anniversary of Strathcarron Hospice – kick starting a year of celebrations of vital hospice care within our communities.
The Wallace Monument (lead photo), Stirling Castle, The Kelpies, The Falkirk Wheel, Alloa Speirs Centre, Clackmannan Tower and Falkirk Stadium are amongst some of the locations taking part in the event, displaying the blue colours of Strathcarron in tribute to the hospice.
Alloa Speirs Centre
Strathcarron – which is a charity and Scotland’s largest independent Hospice – opened on 21 April 1981 in Fankerton, near Denny, serving the Forth Valley, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth areas.
The Hospice house was purchased in 1978 for £55,000 and a further £247,000 was spent converting the original building to accommodate 12 patients, all funded by donations. In its first year Strathcarron Hospice spent £79,776 and looked after 40-50 patients across all its services:
Over the years the Hospice has expanded to include a purpose built 24 bedded Inpatient unit and supports and cares for around 1400 patients a year and their loved ones at a cost of just over £9 million annually. Over 80% of the care is carried out beyond the Hospice building within local communities, in people’s homes and wherever they require our support.
Strathcarron Hospice CEO Mags McCarthy said:
“We would like to thank these iconic local landmarks for lighting up in tribute to Strathcarron, which is itself a beacon of light in the darkness for many people we care for.
“This local show of support kick starts a year of celebrations for us marking 45 years within the communities we serve. Everything we do in our community, is for our community, and with our community, to enable people to live and die well. We want to ensure we will be able to provide hospice care and support for a further 45 years, and for the generations to come.”
Mags added: “We were unable to mark our 40th celebrations as we hoped due to COVID19 so aim to make this a special year of shared memories. We would like to invite individuals, businesses, schools and groups to get involved and mark their memories and celebrations of the work of Strathcarron in their own special way.
“We invite any landmarks or buildings to join us and light up in blue this week in a show of support for their local Hospice if they can.”
As part of the 45th anniversary celebrations, Strathcarron has a year of events and activities planned. Teams within the Hospice will be taking on their own fundraising challenges and individuals and groups can get involved is by taking on a special 45-themed challenge to help us raise a £45,000 fundraising target.
From doing a sponsored 45 length swim or a bake sale with cakes for 45p each, we have 45 fundraising ideas for you to try here, where you can also find out more about our 45th celebrations https://www.
Strathcarron Hospice would like to thank the Kilted Photographer, Scotdrone and Media Propaganda for their assistance and support in photography for the Light Up For Strathcarron event.
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Strathcarron Hospice cares for people with all life-limiting conditions, including cancer, motor neurone disease (MND), heart failure, respiratory and neurological conditions, and other progressive illnesses, supporting patients and families when it matters most.
The charity needs to raise over £19.452 every single day and this figure will continue to rise as our costs increase. All money we receive assist the hospice to provide vital services, which are FREE to those who use them across these local communities.
With only one third of Strathcarron Hospice funded by the Government, the charity is incredibly grateful to our generous supporters who make up the significant shortfall.
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