Charity Tandem Skydive with St Joseph’s Hospice

St Joseph’s Hospice, or as we call it locally – JOSPICE, (a mix of Joseph and Hospice) was developed
from the vision of just one man – Father Francis O’Leary.

In 1962 whilst working as a Missionary priest in Pakistan (Rawalpindi), he came across an old lady named ‘Mrs Jacob’, who was left abandoned and dying at the side of the road. Unfortunately this was, and still is in some places, a common problem in some third world countries …. Some people simply do not have the money to pay for medicine to care for their elderly and dying relatives, the only option for them is to abandon their loved ones.

Father O’Leary took pity on her, and took her to a small mud hut within a Catholic Church compound, and here she was cared for until she came to a peaceful and dignified death some four months later. This experience convinced Father O’Leary, and the others who had cared for that old lady, of the need to offer help for those in the same situation (the abandoned and terminally ill). So this small caring group of people formed the St Joseph’s Hospice Association. From that small beginning has grown an organisation that extends helping hands across the world.

In 1974 Father O’Leary returned home and opened the UK JOSPICE in Ince Road, Thornton, Liverpool. However Jospice has always continued it’s work overseas, and has hospices in Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, Equador, India and Pakistan. All these hospices still bear the Jospice name, and some of our funds raised go to the running costs of these hospices.

Jospice has seen many changes over the years, and following a recent conversion to the old Acadamy building, we can now care for up to 29 people at one time, instead of 25, providing high quality end of life care in an out of a hospital situation.

The dedicated and skilled nursing staff help create a home from home environment for the patient when they can no longer be cared for at home. Jospice also prides itself on the support it gives to the Family members at this difficult time. No-one in Jospice is just a ‘case’ or a ‘number’, every patient is an individual treated with kindness and dignity.

To continue supplying this much needed care and support to the terminally ill people and their families of Sefton, Liverpool and the surrounding areas, Jospice needs to raise -

£6,000 a day
or £42,000 a week
or £2,500,000 a year

75% of this money comes from voluntary funding and fundraising.

Father O’Leary’s vision was that all should have a ‘dignified death’, and this vision is continued today.

Although Jospice was based on the work of a Catholic Priest, it is not restricted to persons of the Catholic faith, all people from Sefton, Liverpool and the surrounding area can take advantage of the services we provide (Catholic, Church of England, agnostic … whatever faith or no faith at all).

Jospice provides a professional service of care for people with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Some patients have been at Jospice for many years, one gentleman has been a patient for over 29 years (every day he is dying). However not all patients are elderly, we provide care for all terminally ill adults (one young lady (aged 28years) is at Jospice, she suffered a brain haemorage whilst giving birth, this left her disabled and in a critical condition) she is now cared for 24 hours by two nurses.

No-one in Jospice is just a ‘case’ or ‘a number’, every patient is an individual treated with kindness and dignity. The environment is informal, and as far as possible, like a home.

Fundraising

Fundraising is an important part of all Charities, and Jospice is no exception.

At Jospice we have a dedicated team of workers and volunteers whose sole aim is to raise funds on a weekly basis. This is completed by the Jospice Lottery, Merchandising, the Jospice Shops, coordinating 3rd Party Events, Collection Boxes, Bag Packs, Street Bucket Collections, and organising our own Events …….

Our Annual Events include….

Grand Charity Raffle, Fun Run, Easter Bingo, Starlight Walk, Garden Events, Ladies Days, Teddy Bear Picnic, the Dragonboat Challenge, Charity Celebrity Golf Tournament, Santa Dashes & Reindeer Runs, Light up a Life Service, Christmas Bingo, and Christmas Tree Collections

To book your charity skydive go to our booking page or phone us on 01869 278706.
www.jospice.org.uk