The ringing of the bell:

"A tradition where patients ring a bell to signify the end of their treatment or a significant milestone, symbolising relief, accomplishment, and community support."

My mum, along with so many other people, never got to ring the bell to celebrate being cancer free as her cancer was too advanced. I have been wanting to do some sort of fundraising challenge for Hospice at Home since she passed away at Christmas 2021 but haven't been able to think of the best way to challenge myself until now! I'm a professional dog walker and have a crazy shih tzu of my own whose trick of ringing a bell has always been a crowd pleaser so I've decided to challenge myself to teach the 25 dogs that I walk regularly to ring a bell too. I'm giving myself until what would have been my mum's birthday to complete the task - 23rd November.

I will forever be grateful to Hospice at Home for bringing some much needed rest for me, and for providing my mum with such compassionate care and enabling her to make her final journey in the home she loved surrounded by the people she loved. The money raised from this challenge will help more families benefit from this amazing service.

Hospice at Home provides free care and support to patients and families in the home.

We provide individualised care and support to improve quality of life and our end of life care helps facilitate a peaceful and dignified death in the home and support to those who are bereaved.

Although we receive some funding from the NHS, we need to raise over 85% of our running costs in order to ensure that this vital help is available when needed and remains free of charge to patients and their families.

Thank you for your support.