For nearly 40 years, Eileen Leonard has been volunteering with St Teresa’s Hospice.
It all started in 1987, when Eileen decided to take on the Great North Run for the first time. Realising she would be able to raise money for charity in the process, Eileen settled on St Teresa’s Hospice after her sister-in-law, who was a trustee of the hospice, told her about the new hospice movement that had just started in Darlington. After taking part in her first Great North Run, Eileen went on to complete the race an incredible 16 times – 15 in aid of St Teresa’s! Working at a butcher’s in Haughton at the time, Eileen would keep a sponsorship form in her pocket in the months leading up to her next race and was amazed by the generous support of her regular customers.
“I did my last Great North Run in 2005. You just can’t beat the day. The atmosphere, the people, it’s like nothing else.”
Over the years, Eileen has continued to fundraise through car boot sales, raffles, sponsored walks, bucket collections and all sorts of fundraising events. Since our digital records began in 1996, Eileen has raised over £17,000 for St Teresa’s Hospice!
Alongside her fundraising efforts, Eileen began volunteering for our Hospice at Home service. Eileen would visit patients, chatting with them and playing board games to keep them company on an afternoon. She often offered carers much-needed respite – on occasion, Eileen still sees some of the family members of patients she used to visit, as they have since become keen fundraisers themselves. When St Teresa’s opened a day hospice, Eileen would pick up patients from their homes in the morning so they could attend craft groups and enjoy a midday meal at the hospice, before taking them home again.
For the past few years, Eileen has been volunteering as a Volunteer Host on our Inpatient Unit.
“I love knowing I can make people feel more relaxed when coming to visit, and I love being able to help comfort people when they have lost a loved one.”
“I absolutely adore volunteering, I would recommend anyone to do it, because it’s very rewarding.”
