Martlets receive £5,000 donation

The Martlets Hospice located in Hove has received a £5,000 donation from the Making A Difference Locally (MADL) charity, which assists independent retailers that are members of the retail group Nisa, raise money for their local communities.

The hospice is one of 52 hospices to benefit from a donation that will be used to support the vital work hospices across the UK and Ireland do to help people with life-limiting illnesses.

Making A Difference Locally works with suppliers to enable participating retailers to raise money in store through the sale of selected products, with up to 5p being allocated every time a product is purchased. 95% of the funds raised through Making A Difference Locally are guaranteed to be donated to charities across the UK and Ireland. The remaining 5% covers administration costs.

Since it was established in 2008, £2.75 million has been donated to local, regional and national charities through MADL.

The Martlets Hospice in Hove cares for adults aged 18 and over who live in and around Brighton and Hove and are affected by terminal and life-limiting illnesses. Since the Martlets Hospice opened in 1997, they have helped more than 24,000 people. And it’s not only the patients themselves who they care for; long-term support is also on offer for families and carers to help them overcome difficult times.

All Martlets services are provided free of charge, however they receive less than one third of their funding from the NHS and must raise over £8,000 a day to care patients and their families.

John Heagney, MADL board member, said:

“The Making A Difference Locally charity has donated significant amounts to charities and good causes across the UK and Ireland and we are delighted to make these donations to help such a large number of hospices which play a truly vital role in their local communities.”

Robert Griffiths, Director of Fundraising at the Martlets Hospice, said:

“On behalf of the Martlets Hospice I’d like to thank MADL for such a generous donation, £5,000 will go to our Hospice at Home service; this service enables patients to choose to be cared for in their own homes. £5,000 will allow them to provide care for ten patients at home for four days; patients’ families will also be offered vital help and advice. All our services are provided free of charge and as we have to raise over £3 million a year to continue to provide these services, community support like this is essential”