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I am sure that many people ask you to sponsor them but this time, it is truly special! This year is the 150th anniversary of my great-great-grandfather, William Rathbone VI, conceiving the idea of nursing sick people in their own homes (what we now call district nursing) and financing the first experiment in the slums of out of his own pocket. By 1887, he had developed the idea into a national charity with Queen as its Patron. From that time until the late 1960s, the charity, now called the Queen’s Nursing Institute, trained the vast majority of all district nurses in the .
Today the QNI is the only charity solely committed to supporting those nurses providing community nursing services. It does this by delivering a programme of activities supporting expert nursing in the home and by influencing government policy regarding the future provision of such nursing. This support is particularly important at a time when the Government’s health policy is emphasising caring for people in their own homes yet has allowed the number of trained district nurses to shrink by 25% over the past 10 years and when some health authorities, in order to save money, are trying to provide this service through nurses who have not had the appropriate training. If you would like to learn more, go to their web site (http://www.qni.org.uk/).
The QNI is celebrating this anniversary in various ways including launching an appeal for £150,000 in order to enable it to increase the work it does in all these areas. I have been a trustee since 1974 and am trying to raise a minimum of £25,000 in support of this appeal. So far I have managed to raise £19,500 but there is still at least £5,500 to go.
I have therefore vowed that if I fail to raise this, I will fast for three days. Whilst that may be good for my waistline, I like to think that you would not want your old friend to fade away and therefore might help to save me from that horrible fate by making a donation towards this appeal. I hope also that what I have told you will persuade you that supporting this appeal is enlightened self-interest since you and I and our families will almost certainly need expert nursing care in our own homes at some point in the future You can give this support either by donating securely online by clicking the 'Donate' button on this page and following the instructions, or here: www.justgiving.com/qni or by sending a cheque to the Queen’s Nursing Institute, 3 Albemarle Way, London, EC1V 4RQ, indicating that it is in response to my appeal on behalf of DN150.
It would be wonderful if you could help.
With every good wish,
Bill.