Those of you who have lived in Howick for any amount of time are familiar with Howick Hospice Association. We have been ensuring access to home based Palliative Care services for patients and their families for over 27 years and follow a philosophy of care that believes that every person with a life-threatening illness has the right to quality of life, and dignity in death, irrespective of gender, age, race group, social standing etc. We are a non-profit organization and our services to our community are free of charge.
Palliative care is an holistic approach which not only addresses pain and symptom management, but aims to provide emotional, psycho-social and spiritual support for the patient and family in coping with a life threatening disease (and beyond, with bereavement counselling).
Many of you will have attended some of our fundraising events. Others might have seen our vehicles as we care for patients in their homes in and around Howick and I am sure that many will have read in the Village Talk not so long ago, about the hijacking of one of our vehicles in Mpophomeni where we were about to visit a cancer patient. This is the first incident of this nature that has befallen us in 27 years of service. As South Africans, however, it is a sad truth that a vehicle hijacking can happen to anyone, anytime, any place. In our case the gentleman who perpetrated the crime was not part of a crime syndicate, as so often happens, but a mentally unstable individual whom we have been told, had not taken his medications that day.
As General Manager I am so aware of and am tremendously proud of each and every staff member for his/her commitment and dedication to the work that we do. What makes this dedication and commitment so much more valuable, is that no one in our organization is earning a market related salary, and Hospice is unable to provide pension or medical aid to any staff member. As a non profit whose services are free to our community, we simply cannot afford to pay this amazing team of people what they are worth. And yet every day here they are, working hard to make a difference in the lives of people who very likely would be struggling and feeling hopeless without them.
It is with sadness therefore that I now advise that with effect from 01 January 2015, all staff hours (and salaries) will be cut by 20%. In spite of several excellent fund raising events and gratefully received donations and bequests, our income in these areas is down by over 40% compared with previous years. Also, in spite of our best efforts to secure income through fundraising proposals, out of the 41 sent out this year to corporates, pharmaceuticals and financial institutions, both national and international, none has been successful. And of course the fact that Lotto has not opened applications to charities since 2012, does not help. The 20% cut in hours/salaries presents itself as a full day out of service, so with effect from 01 January, 2015, Howick Hospice Association will only be open from Monday to Thursday, 08.00 – 15.30 for our office and 08.30 – 15.00 for our Charity Shop. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our community but in the interests of the sustainability of Howick Hospice Association into the future we have no choice but to take this measure.
In the meantime, we will continue to pray for, and to thank God for the funding that He brings our way and we will continue to do everything that we can to improve our income situation. We would especially appeal to you our community, our biggest support! If every Howick business was able to donate R150 per month, and every Howick resident, R50 per month, and if that income came directly into our Hospice bank account (details below) we would be well on our way to furthering our sustainability into the future. Whilst we fully appreciate that families in the community are feeling the effects of our economic climate, we would ask you all to give this appeal your most sympathetic consideration. Every little bit will help! Thank you!
Banking details -
Name of Account holder: Howick Hospice Association
Bank: Standard, Howick
Branch Code: 058 325
Account No: 05 247 1624
HowickVillage.co.za pledges to donate R150.00 per month to Howick Hospice and also pledges 10% of new advertising sales during November 2014 to Howick Hospice. We encourage all Howick businesses to do their share. Howick Hospice really needs everyone who can to give a little, so that they can continue to help you or your loved ones should the need arise!