In lieu of flowers at a funeral

One way to celebrate the life of a loved one is to ask family and friends to make a donation at their funeral service. Often people choose to make a donation to St Gemma’s Hospice in lieu of flowers.

If you are a family member or funeral director making funeral arrangements, there are many ways you can arrange donations to St Gemma’s:

• Personalised collection box – get in touch with Clare on 0113 306 9165 or clare.kemsley@st-gemma.co.uk who will arrange this for you, usually for you to collect from the Hospice

• Donation envelopes – we can send you envelopes to hand out at the funeral, these include a Gift Aid declaration so your guests can add 25% value to their donation, at no extra cost to them

• Share our in-memory donation link and ask those donating to include your loved one’s name. We will keep track of the total donated and be able to share the total donated with the next of kin (we will never share names of people who have donated). The link to donate is: www.st-gemma.co.uk/in-memory-donation

• Create an online fundraising page via JustGiving or via Virgin Money Giving

• Set up a Facebook fundraiser in their memory, which you can easily shared with your Facebook friends. Create your fundraiser at www.facebook.com/fund/st.g.hospice

Contact Clare on 0113 306 9165 or clare.kemsley@st-gemma.co.uk for support with donations in memory of your loved one.

Coronavirus/COVID-19 update:

We understand that the current extraordinary circumstances may mean that you can’t say goodbye to family and friends as you would wish to.

Our Bereavement Team have put together a guide on funerals during the pandemic to support you in organising a funeral.

You may find that asking for donations online will allow family and friends who can’t attend the funeral to feel connected. If you create a fundraiser online, then people can share special messages, photos and donations on the page.

For support during this difficult time, we have teamed up with Wheatfields Hospice to launch a COVID-19 Support Line. Call St Gemma’s on 0113 218 5544 or Wheatfields Hospice on 0113 203 3369. This is available to anyone in Leeds with family members or friends who are critically ill, or who have died from any illness during the COVID-19 period.