Day 290 to Day 291 - West Sussex to work on BRIT and supporting St Wilfrid's Hospice and Chichester College‏

My BRIT 2012 mile blog; sharing encounters and memories from every county of Great Britain and Northern Ireland throughout 2012

 

2012 BRIT miles with a spinal cord injury; the equivalent of 310 marathon distances in 330 days to support young people post-trauma

 

Thanks to everyone for supporting me on my toughest challenge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This month’s BRIT 2012 mile walk is November in the West Midlands

 

Day 290 to Day 291 - West Sussex to work on BRIT and supporting St Wilfrid's Hospice and Chichester College

After a long drive home, Day 290 was based in West Sussex where I needed to walk, work on the BRIT strategy for December and prepare for an array of events to support other charities and organisations. After a hectic day I was absolutely shattered and finished Day 290 with 206 miles to go.

The week wasn’t going to let up in any way and Day 291 was another busy day. I am delighted to support other charities and organisations, however this year that means fitting the walk around each event. I am determined to keep up to date with my miles which is averaging 6 – 7 miles each day to finish on target. Day 291 would be no different.

After walking I left for St Wilfrid’s Hospice http://www.stwh.co.uk/ where I am one of their 25^th Anniversary Patrons this year. 

Talking with members of the St Wilfrid's Clinical Staff

Since opening their doors to their first patient in January 1987, St Wilfrid’s Hospice have cared for over 11,000 local people and at any one time they care for around 200 people from the community, offering support to their families and friends. Their services are provided free of charge, they are not a part of the NHS and rely on public support to raise 86% of their annual running costs, which this year will exceed £5.8 million.

The St Wilfrid’s Hospice Mission is, as a charity, to provide high quality specialist palliative and end of life care to adults in their community, complementing NHS and other services.

Honoured to share a very special day with St Wilfrid's Hospice

St Wilfrid's Hospice Vision is that they aspire to a time when all services work together to provide high quality palliative and end of life care to meet the needs of the community.

Their Values are;

·                     People at the heart of care

·                     Excellence in all we do

·                     Close working with others

·                     Support for our staff and volunteers

·                     Independent and accountable

·                     Financially secure

·                     Communication and education

·                     Integral part of the community

2012 is a very special year for St Wilfrid’s Hospice as it is their 25th Anniversary and it was befitting that they received the fantastic news in June that Her Majesty The Queen had honoured their Hospice Volunteers. The announcement was made on the anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen's coronation, Saturday 2nd June 2012 that the Hospice’s volunteers have been selected to receive The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, which is the MBE for volunteer groups.

Volunteers of St Wilfrid's Hospice who were also presented with
5, 10, 15, 20 and even 25 year Voluntary Service Certificates
their special day.

This prestigious honour is awarded to those volunteer groups who are recognised and respected by the local community and the people they serve.

I was honoured to be invited to their ceremony as a Patron where Mrs Susan Pyper, the Lord Lieutenant and Her Majesty The Queen’s representative in West Sussex, presented the volunteer group with a certificate, signed by Her Majesty, and a commemorative domed glass crystal.



The Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, Mrs Susan Pyper, with Mr Gerry Warden, the oldest St Wilfrid's Hospice Volunteer

 

 

Following the ceremony I attended the Chichester College http://www.chichester.ac.uk/ Stars of 2012 Award Ceremony.

Chichester College holds an annual award night to celebrate the achievements of their students and staff from all departments and courses at the college. I was delighted to be invited by Shelagh Legrave, the Principal of Chichester College, not only to attend their very special evening, but to talk to everyone about BRIT and to present an award to one of their students.

It was also an opportunity for me to thank Shelagh, Andrew Green, Deputy Principal, Lisa Humphries and Trudy Baxter for all the super support they have given to BRIT and I throughout 2012. 

Following my speech I presented Emma Fehrenbach with her well-deserved award which has been named the British Inspiration Trust award and is the first year it has been presented.

With Emma Fehrenbach & her parents after presenting her award at the Chichester College Stars of 2012 Award Ceremony

This is Emma’s citation that went with her award;

"Emma came to college last September to attend a Level 3 Complementary Therapy Course. She has an inner strength that is immeasurable. Not only does Emma have significant visual impairments, but she also has the added difficulty of having dyslexia. During the year Emma excelled in her practical and theory, completing her course as an excellent therapist with Distinctions. To do this she worked harder than anyone else on the course, spending all of her spare time/weekends/holidays working but she always handed her assignments in on time.
Emma blossomed on the course and gained many friends especially with international students and has several invites to Japan! Emma’s final achievement during the year was to attend the World Skills Competition and again she showed determination and comradeship amongst her peers.”

It was a pleasure to meet Emma and her Mum and Dad and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Emma and many of the award winners and their families.  

My sincere thanks to everyone at St Wilfrid’s Hospice and Chichester College for a very special day.

I ended the day with 200 miles to go.

With best wishes,

Phil