Hospice Care Week Resources
From 9-15 October 2023, Hospice Care Week is a chance to celebrate all the work hospices do, and the people who do it. This year's theme is #WeAreHospiceCare and we will be supporting hospices and organisations celebrate everyone that makes hospice care what it is.
Are you taking part? Download your resources today to help with your Hospice Care Week activities.
Support and materials
Our Hospice Care Week resources include digital downloads for social media, a handy 'cheat sheet' for your socials, posters and stickers to print yourself, and event support and activity suggestions.
Event support and activity ideas
Hospice Care Week is the perfect opportunity for you and your supporters to come together and raise vital funds and awareness for your hospice, and for hospice care.
If you're wondering where to start with arranging an event for Hospice Care Week, or looking for activity and fundraising ideas, we've compiled some top tips for you, below.
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It can feel a little intimidating to get people talking about hospice events. But some simple tips and tricks can work really well.
Share a memory
Ask people to share a memory of their experience of great hospice care. People generally enjoy talking about friends and family who are no longer with us, and it can be the perfect way to start the conversation if they were cared for by a hospice.
Ask relatable questions
Ask tangible, relatable questions such as what people know already about hospice care, and, if they work in a hospice, what their favourite thing about their job is. This is a great way to start conversations about hospice care, and pique people's interest.
Hospice stories
Use one of our stories - which you can find on our website - as an introduction to the topic.
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Think about the venue
Think about a good venue for your event. Your hospice is the best place to start, but if you need to look elsewhere you can get in touch with organisations in the community, such as a library, a local church or mosque, a village hall, or the reception area of a GP surgery might be ideal.
Who's your audience?
Be clear on who the audience for your event is, and how you'll reach them. If it's the patients and families of a hospice or GP surgery, they are likely to be passing through regularly. But if you're putting something on in a local cafe, think about who is likely to be most interested in the event, and how you can make sure they hear about it.
Use our resources
Make use of our range of downloadable and printable resources to help your event go smoothly.
Refreshments
Providing some refreshments is a good idea - there's nothing like a cup of tea and cake to encourage people to get involved.
Promote your event
You can promote your event via email and social media. But it's also helpful to think about whether any local organisations might help you promote the event, for example in their shop window or via an email newsletter.
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Which is the best platform?
Think about which platforms you want to use to host your event online. Zoom is a popular choice, but there are lots of options. Make sure you are well prepared to check the technology is working!
Encouraging people to join in
Online events are brilliant for encouraging lots of people to take part wherever they are, but it can be a little harder to get people talking. Think about how you encourage people to join in, whether that is through a little game, a series of questions, or breaking people into smaller online groups.
Best timing for your audience
Think about the best time for your event based on who you are hoping will attend. Is it better in the evening, after work, or during the day?
Start small!
Don't be worried if your event is small. Lots of people register for online events and then can't make it on the day - but sometimes a small group can have a big impact.
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Check out some of our favourite fundraising ideas:
Go Yellow
Show your support for Hospice Care Week by turning you, your friends or your office, yellow! You could wear yellow to work, hold a yellow quiz or put on a banquet of just yellow food. Every penny will go to support people at the end of life.
Afternoon tea or brunch
Invite your friends round for a brunch or an afternoon tea, and ask for a donation in return.
Quiz
Plan an in person or virtual quiz with your nearest and dearest. Participants can donate to enter and prizes can be won by individuals or teams with the most points.
Garden cinema
If you don’t have one already, borrow a projector and host a big-screen experience for your friends and family. All proceeds from the ‘box office’ and homemade treats can go to your sponsorship target.
Camp festival
Did you miss your usual festivals this year? Why not organise your own by holding a garden party and invite friends and family to play garden games and cook dinner over an open fire for a donation. You could even invite them to pitch up a tent for the full experience!
Car wash
Why not get out (and get the kids involved) with washing as many cars as you can, asking for donations on the way.
Challenge yourself
Challenge yourself to take on a bold activity for Hospice Care Week. Get sponsored to shave your head, dye your hair yellow, volunteer to have your legs waxed or get gunged for hospice care. Get friends and family to donate to watch.
Step challenge
Arrange a step challenge between teams, pay to enter and win prizes for the most steps taken during Hospice Care Week. Set challenges that remind people what it takes to provide hospice care. Can someone complete 200 push-ups in one day to represent the 200+ hospices in the UK? Or 300,000 steps in a month for the combined number of people cared for by hospices each year?
Social media cheat sheet
Download our pre-written social media posts to use on your social channels during Hospice Care Week.
Social media graphics
Download graphics in landscape, square and 16:9 formats for you to use on your digital channels
Printable materials
These materials are designed for you to download and print off yourselves, including:
A4 posters - and we also have an editable poster where you can nominate a staff member to celebrate during the week!
A sheet of Hospice Care Week stickers
The stickers are designed to be printed on an A4 sheet of 60 x 25 mm label stickers (like these ones) and you’ll need to make sure that the printer is set to print at 100% and not scale to fit or any other size setting.
Bunting - With 6 styles to choose from, these bunting templates are designed to be printed on A4 paper or card. Use a hole punch and string to transform the templates into bunting.
Welsh resources
We also have all the Hospice Care Week resources available in Welsh, including:
Bunting - six different bunting designs, which you can print and cut out
Stickers - designed to be printed on an A4 sheet of 60 x 25 mm label stickers (like these ones) and you’ll need to make sure that the printer is set to print at 100% and not scale to fit or any other size setting.
“From clinical staff to bereavement counsellors, kitchen staff to volunteer gardeners, the staff and volunteers who support over 300,000 people every year are what makes hospice care so special. This Hospice Care Week, we want to celebrate them.
Hospices are exciting, rewarding places to work, and with the need for hospice care growing, we need more people to take up the opportunity to work in this incredible profession. If you're interested, reach out to your local hospice.”
~ Toby Porter, CEO, Hospice UK
[Please feel free to use this quote in your activities and press]
Taking part? Don't forget to register
Are you getting involved? Register today to get resources, news and updates direct to your inbox.
By registering, you will be helping us make sure that we support you as best we can, by knowing which hospices are taking part.