Dame Cicely Saunders wanted to provide compassionate care for the dying, and in the process, started a worldwide hospice movement.
A nurse, social worker and doctor, she established new methods of pain control and initiated an innovative, holistic approach to care-giving for terminally ill patients and their families. She opened the first hospice in 1967. Hospices are now worldwide, helping thousands of people daily.
Saunders’s life story will be retold as a fundraiser for Nanaimo Hospice Society. You Matter Because You Are, a 60-minute story theatre presentation, was researched and created by Nanaimo Hospice volunteers Margaret Murphy and Wendy Potter, professional storytellers who will present the work.
The shows are set for Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. and Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the new hospice location at 1080 St. George Cres. Tickets are by suggested donation of $10. All proceeds go to the hospice society. To reserve a seat, please call 250-591-8811.
Nanaimo Community Hospice has been serving the Nanaimo community for 32 years and was the first community-based hospice established in Canada. Over the years the organization has trained more than 1,000 volunteers who have supported more than 30,000 individuals and families facing caregiving, death and grief.
Hospice programs are free and include professional grief counselling and volunteer-led group programs, palliative and caregiver support and more.
For more information, please visit www.nanaimohospice.com.