St Barnabas Hospice is selling ironwork dragonflies in memory of loved ones this Spring.
Following the hugely successful Forget Me Not campaign last year which raised in excess of £100,000 for the Hospice, St Barnabas has now launched the Dragonfly Appeal which will follow the same format this Spring. 
The story of the dragonfly helps children to understand the death of a loved one. Later this year, the Hospice will be launching a free children’s bereavement service, so children and young people can talk about their grief in one-to-one or group settings, with trained counsellors. Money raised from the Dragonfly Appeal will help to fund this new venture.
The dragonfly story fits perfectly with this campaign, as it is a story which the St Barnabas nurses give to grieving parents and children to help them through a difficult time. Read the dragonfly story here: www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/the-dragonfly-story
Tracy Tuffs, Counselling Service Team Lead at St Barnabas Hospice, said:
“Having a child bereavement service at St Barnabas is something that has been in the pipeline for a while. We currently support adults across Lincolnshire with their grief, whether their loved one died in our Hospice or not. Our plans are to launch the children’s service to only those with a direct connection to our Hospice initially and then evaluate from there.
“It has been lovely for the St Barnabas Wellbeing team to work so closely with the Fundraising and Marketing teams to bring this project to life and we’re excited to see how successful it is.”
St Barnabas has partnered with The Old Smithy Forge once again to create handmade, ironwork dragonflies for their supporters to purchase in memory of a loved one. For a donation, supporters can have their very own dragonfly to sit in their garden, home or special place of remembrance. 
The first 1,000 dragonflies purchased will go on display at Doddington Hall from Saturday 4th to Sunday 19th April, so by purchasing early, your keepsake dragonfly will be part of the display in a serene area of the gardens.
Jenny Peake, Supporter Engagement Manager at St Barnabas Hospice, said:
“We’re delighted to be working with Doddington Hall and Wrendale Designs on this fantastic project. Doddington Hall is a beautiful venue and Hannah Dale from Wrendale Designs has managed to capture our little dragonfly in watercolour to support the campaign.
“I would like to say a special thank you to Waterside Shopping Centre in Lincoln for sponsoring the appeal. We work very closely with Dean and the team and it is fantastic that they have chosen to come on board this Spring.”
Dean Cross, Centre Manager at Waterside Shopping Centre, added:
“St Barnabas does fantastic work for people at the most challenging time of their life. I know many of the people who work for our retailers and who shop with us have accessed support from St Barnabas. It’s important for us to give something back to the local community, that’s why we decided to work with the Hospice, and why we agreed to sponsor the Dragonfly Appeal.”
“The Waterside was one of the main sponsors of St Barnabas’ previous campaign, the Forget Me Nots Appeal, and we hope that this fundraising effort is just as successful.”
St Barnabas Hospice is asking for a suggested donation of £34.19 in return for a dragonfly. To put this into perspective:
- £34.19 would fund two bereavement support sessions to help a person through their grief.
- £83.22 would pay for a nurse for a day to hold the hand of a patient and their family, manage their pain and allow them to enjoy precious moments together.
- £115.67 would pay for four hours of care at our specialist Inpatient Unit. It is here that pets can visit their owners for the last time and children can create memory boxes with a parent who doesn’t have long to live.
To donate for your dragonfly and help fund a new children’s bereavement service in Lincolnshire, visit www.stbarnabashospice.co.uk/dragonfly