Our Tree of Life - St Gemma's Hospice

The Tree of Life is situated in the memory garden at St Gemma’s Hospice.

Our memory garden provides a calm, peaceful space where family and friends can sit and reflect, receiving strength for the present and hope for the future.

The Tree of Life is sculpted from bronze. Each copper leaf added to the tree can be hand engraved in memory of a loved one. The leaves hang on the tree for a minimum of ten years, providing a lasting tribute for those we have lost.

Tree of Life

Thank you for kindly making this donation for a leaf on our Tree of Life. Please fill in the details below; you will be prompted to enter your donation amount on the next page after submitting these details. Thank you for your support.

Full name *

Email Address *

Enter Email

Confirm Email Address *

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Phone number *

Dedicating Your Leaf

Please dedicate my leaf in memory of (your loved one's name): *

Who died on: *

And was my (your loved one's relationship to you):

Your leaf will be engraved with your loved one's name and their date of death; it will be placed on a branch that represents the month your loved one died. If you would prefer a different branch, for example to commemorate a birthday or anniversary, please tell us which month:

Where did you loved one receive care from St Gemma's Hospice?

at home

in the Day Hospice

in the In-patient Unit

Are you a UK taxpayer?

Add 25% to the value of your donation: Gift Aid is reclaimed by St Gemma's Hospice from the tax you pay for the current tax year. This means we can increase the value of your donation by 25p for every £1 you give. All you need to do is tick the box below and we will do the rest. If this is a gift on behalf of a number of people, unfortunately you will not be able to gift aid it.

Do you want to Gift Aid this donation? *

Yes

Gift Aid Declaration

Yes, I would like St Gemma's Hospice to claim back the tax on any donations I have made in the last 4 years and all future donations, until I give further notice. I confirm I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that year it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

How we communicate with you

As a valued supporter we really want to keep you posted about news and events across St Gemma’s and to share how your support benefits local patients and their families. We will contact you for administrative purposes regarding this interaction. We will usually send you information by post; if you would also like to receive email updates please let us know. If you wish to change how we send you information or choose not to hear from us at all, there are a variety of ways you can do this. Ring us on 0113 218 5555, email supportercare@st-gemma.co.uk or update your preferences online at www.st-gemma.co.uk/mydata. For further information on how we use and store your details please visit www.st-gemma.co.uk/privacy. We will never sell your personal information.

I am happy to be contacted by email in the future: *

Yes

Vaidation Code Required *

Date

Copper leaf with a name engraved on it, with more leaves in the background

History of the tree

Back in 2001, one of our longstanding volunteers Sheila came up with the idea for our “Tree of Life”. She brought it to life by asking Harvey Nichols to donate their window display that

was made out of copper. Sheila then engaged the services of a local metal engineer to transform the donated copper into the beautiful tree that you see today.

Sheila with the tree of life

Wendy's Story

“I wanted a leaf on the Tree of Life at St Gemma’s for our grandchildren Archie and Ella to know that their grandad Tony’s memory lives on everywhere. They visited him the last week of his life at the Hospice and Archie fondly remembers the garden, especially the ‘Teletubby house’, as he calls it. He constantly talks about Tony and I really want them to be able to visit all these memory places as they grow up and help to explain our loss.”

Kristen's Story

“It was approaching what would have been my mum Anne’s 60th birthday and my nana, my dad and I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion so we got in touch with St Gemma’s.

Getting a leaf engraved on the Tree of Life was a brilliant way of remembering mum and creating a lasting tribute to her life, whilst also giving back to the hospice who looked after her so well before she died.

The St Gemma’s team were brilliant in guiding us through the process of getting the leaf engraved.”