Bob Weston, Chairman of Weston Homes, is set to unveil the recently completed Taylor Centre at an official opening at St Clare Hospice today (Tuesday, April 19).
Weston Homes has sponsored over fifty percent of the £820,000 building costs, as well as providing the expertise of over 50 building contractors, many of whom kindly volunteered their time or worked on a not-for-profit basis in support of St Clare. The project was also funded by a number of kind donors who wish to remain anonymous.
Bob Weston has been a dedicated and long-running ambassador of St Clare, helping to raise over £600,000 for the Hospice in the past decade. But when Bob’s business partner, Richard Taylor, passed away at St Clare in 2013, he was personally moved to leave a lasting legacy in Richard’s memory. Angela Taylor, Richard’s wife, will also help to officially open the building which is named after her husband.
Bob said: “St Clare is close to my own heart, and to the many families who have been through their doors. I know that Richard, and thousands of other people in need, have received care which is second to none at St Clare. It is a privilege to be able to support St Clare Hospice through this new building, going some way to repaying the kindness which they have shown to families in our local community across three decades.”
The Taylor Centre may be bricks and mortar, but it means so much more to the people and families who come to St Clare. One man in particular who was touched by the building project was David Ramm. David, who worked as a carpenter for Stansted-based property developers City and Country, watched the build progress during his time at the Inpatient Unit. David passed away in November 2015 at St Clare Hospice at the age of 35 years.
Sophie, David’s wife, said: “Dave came to St Clare for pain management in October last year and ended up staying for four weeks. He was a carpenter since he left school and always worked on building sites. When Dave was at St Clare he loved to go for a walk to get some fresh air and chat to the contractors about the build – it gave him a bit of normality.”
“Dave received such amazing care from St Clare and we can’t thank them enough for being there for us. It is fantastic that the new building will help St Clare to be there for even more families in future. I just hope anyone who has to go through something like this is able to have the care of a place like St Clare to get them through it.”
Tanya Curry, CEO of St Clare Hospice, said:
“Over the past 25 years we have cared for thousands of local people with life-limiting illnesses and their families. But with more people in need of our care, and an ageing population, we know that demand for our services will continue to increase year on year.”
“We have been responding to this growing need over the past five years with a rapid growth in our services and a three-fold increase in the number of people we care for. The Taylor Centre will enable us to accommodate our expanding teams, across both clinical and support services, so that we can be there to support even more families in the future.”
“Our heartfelt thanks go to Bob Weston and all those who have donated their time and expertise to making this building possible. It really will have a direct impact on the lives of the patients and families we care for, and help them through one of life’s most difficult journeys.”
