I WOULD like to wish all your readers a very happy new year and thank everyone who has so kindly supported St Margaret’s Hospice throughout 2017.

We have had a lot of fun at the many fundraising events that have been held this year, including our recent Festive Fun Run in Bridgwater.

And we have been delighted by the tremendous support that your local community has given to our charity shops in Bridgwater and elsewhere. 

We are so grateful for the wonderful donations of clothing, books and furniture as well as to the many amazing volunteers who help keep our shops open, allowing us to raise the much needed funds to pay for the care that St Margaret’s Hospice gives.

All of this local support, together with the wonderful gifts in people’s wills that we have received has enabled us to care for over 3,800 people in Somerset last year.

As we look ahead to 2018, we know thousands more people with life-limiting illnesses across Somerset will need compassionate end of life care – and we are determined to be there for them and their families when they need us.


READ MORE: Charity to open funeral directors in Taunton


Of course, to enable us to do this we are very reliant on the generosity of our local community. After NHS funding, we need to raise over £9.5m this year to deliver our care.

We have lots of fun events coming up this year, including the Great Somerset Walk at Wimbleball Lake on Sunday, March 4. 

Once again it promises to be an enjoyable day out for all the family.

As you may have heard, we are also opening our first funeral home in Taunton in early 2018. 

This is an innovative step for a hospice, which will extend the support we are able to offer families while helping to fund vital end of life care for our community.

Our motto at St Margaret’s is ‘Making each day count’.

I hope 2018 will be a year when we are all inspired to make the most of every day while sparing a thought for people in Somerset who are living with a life-limiting illness.

ANN LEE, CEO
St Margaret’s Hospice
Heron Drive
Taunton