A hospice that provides care for people with terminal illnesses has highlighted the work that more than 550 volunteers do to encourage others to give their time.

St Clare Hospice in Hastingwood has volunteers in a number of roles, including staff at eight charity shops, therapists and home-help.

This Volunteers Week, the charity is celebrating the work carried out by the army of volunteers.

Christine Crump, voluntary services manager at St Clare, said: “Throughout the year, our dedicated volunteers give 100,000 hours of their time to support the Hospice, engaging in every aspect of our work and helping us to extend the support we are able to offer not only to our patients but to their relatives and loved ones too.

“We are very lucky to be able to say that some of our volunteers have been with us from the very start when St Clare was founded in 1990, and it is true to say that without this very special collaboration, we would not be able to sustain or develop the high level of care that St Clare has become renowned for over the past quarter of a century.” 

For more information about volunteering for St Clare, visit the charity’s website.