• Swindon & Wiltshire Community champions
• Thursday September 12 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Gardner Leader names Prospect Hospice as its charity of the year

Regional law firm Gardner Leader has announced its new charity of the year, Prospect Hospice, which provides end-of-life care services and support to people living in Wiltshire and the Swindon area.

Since 2022 the firm has been fundraising for Newbury Soup Kitchen, raising £8,000 during that time.

Over the last 10 years Gardner Leader has supported over ten charities, including Naomi’s House, which provides respite and end-of-life care, and bereavement support for seriously ill children, The Newbury and District Cancer Care Trust, and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance, raising over £50,000 through its team’s fundraising efforts.

Chosen by the firm’s wider team members, Prospect Hospice was nominated through Gardner Leader’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, which was formed in 2014 with the aim of making a positive impact on the communities the firm works in and for.

The charity provides outstanding, personalised and compassionate care for people affected by a life-limiting illness, completely free of charge.

Its mission is to ensure that anyone can access the best possible expert care whenever and wherever they need it, whether at its hospice or in their own home.

Gardner Leader’s team will be taking part in a series of fundraising and volunteering initiatives over the coming months, ranging from bake sales and fun runs to organising donations to raise vital funds.

The charity is currently under threat of closure due to increasing cost pressures as funding from the NHS hasn’t risen in 10 years, leaving it around £1 million short of what it needs this year to support people who need it most.

Jeremy Lune (pictured), CEO of Prospect Hospice said: “Prospect Hospice are absolutely delighted to be chosen as Gardner Leader’s charity of the year. Like us, they put people at the heart of everything that they do. Each year we provide personalised palliative and end-of-life care to 2,000 patients and support to families across northeast Wiltshire, south Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.

“In challenging times, we quite simply couldn’t do this without the generous support of our community, so every penny that is raised by Gardner Leader will make a genuine difference to people’s lives. We look forward to working together for the benefit of others.”

Gardner Leader has been at the heart of the Thames Valley community for over 125 years, with offices in Newbury, Thatcham and Maidenhead. Tripling in size over the last 10 years, the firm also has offices across the south of the country, including London, Windsor, Swindon and Oxford.

Its team of legal professionals work across nine specialist teams each dedicated to providing specific services to businesses and individuals.

Derek Rodgers, Gardner Leader’s managing partner added: “We are looking forward to working with Prospect Hospice in Swindon as our new nominated charity for the firm, coinciding with the third anniversary of Gardner Leader arriving in Wiltshire following our merger with Clark Holt in Swindon in August 2021.

“Like many of my colleagues, I have my own personal experience of the amazing care which hospices provide, and the resources they need to do so, and I am sure that our partnership with them will be an incredibly rewarding one for us and hopefully also for them.”