A HOSPICE volunteer has dedicated her latest knitted post box topper to a woman running in the London Marathon in aid of the hospice. Kate Blance from Castlemorton will be taking part in the London Marathon on 26 April to raise funds for St Richard’s Hospice. She passes the post box in Malvern on her training runs.
The crafty knitter responsible for the topper is Mandy Harding who volunteered for St Richard’s Hospice from 2011 to late 2025. She heard about Kate’s marathon efforts from a friend at a knit and natter group.
Kate said: “It’s amazing and I feel very honoured!
“In 2018, St Richard’s provided my father with both outpatient and in-patient care, supporting not only him but our whole family with exceptional compassion and kindness. Their care is available 24 hours a day and continues through bereavement, offering comfort when it is needed most.
“St Richard’s Hospice is funded entirely by donations, and every contribution helps them continue this vital work. This will be the first marathon I have ever run, and as I turn 60 this year it feels like a meaningful challenge to take on. I have previously run several half marathons, but this one is truly special.”
Mandy said: “The topper will stay out throughout April, until the London Marathon is over.
“I’ve added a label to it explaining what it’s about and adding Kate’s fundraising page and a QR code, so hopefully a few passers-by might donate.
“I started volunteering for St Richard’s when I stopped working full-time. Partly it was to get me out of the house and mixing with people, and partly because I have a sister who is chronically disabled with MS.
“Because we live a long way apart, I cannot support her, so I decided to support people closer to me. I see it sort of as a ‘social bank’. If I pay in here with my time by volunteering, my sister can withdraw with a local volunteer’s time where she lives. If volunteers didn’t exist all over the country, everybody’s lives would be somewhat more difficult in their hours of need.”
Kate has already raised over £2,500 for St Richard’s and has set up a fundraising page for anyone who would like to support her: www.justgiving.com/page/katherine-blance-6.
St Richard’s Hospice is an independent charity offering free, expert care for adults with an illness that cannot be cured, and support for their loved ones and carers.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,000 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
It will cost in the region of £12m to run the hospice this year, which includes patient care and all the necessary support services.
St Richard’s relies on voluntary support, including from donations, gifts in Wills, retail and events for most of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.
For more information about St Richard’s Hospice visit www.strichards.org.uk
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Caption 1: Kate Blance stands next to the post box topper knitted by Mandy Harding
Caption 2: Mandy Harding’s intricate creation includes a runner wearing a t-shirt with the hospice’s snowdrops logo, alongside shrubs, robins and bunting
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More information about St Richard’s Hospice
Who does St Richard’s Hospice care for?
St Richard’s cares for people with an illness that cannot be cured, who have complex needs which cannot be met by other services. These include cancer, and neurological, respiratory, cardiac and renal conditions.
All its services are available to people registered with a South Worcestershire GP. The St Richard’s In-patient Unit cares for people across Worcestershire.
St Richard’s cares for people by:
- Supporting people, their loved ones and carers, to manage their illness and remain independent for as long as possible, giving emotional, social, practical and spiritual support
- Providing dedicated, individualised palliative and end of life support helping people to control their pain and other symptoms of concern
- Offering support to enable a person to live well through the course of their illness alongside other therapies that are intended to prolong life
- Supporting our patients, loved ones and carers before and through bereavement
- Working in collaboration with our communities to ensure we are inclusive, respect diversity and provide equitable access to meet the needs of our patients, their loved ones and carers
- Working in partnership with other health care providers and organisations
- Encouraging wider understanding that death and dying is a part of life
- Supporting the local community to be well informed about the care available to them
- Supporting the health and social care workforce through learning and development to provide high-quality, individualised palliative and end of life care
Where St Richard’s cares
St Richard’s offers free care and support for people in the hospice, in the community, in GP surgeries, by telephone or by digital options.
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