Come along to our Boldmere Cafe on the 10th May….see below for full details
Join us for Dying Matters Week
People across Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield are being invited to join activities organised by John Taylor Hospice as part of Dying Matters Awareness Week.
The hospice is holding an Every Moment Matters Café, taking ‘Before I die…’ boards into the community, staffing information stands at local hospitals and taking part in a week-long festival at mac (Midlands Arts Centre) in Cannon Hill Park.
All the events aim to encourage people from different walks of life to engage in conversations about death and dying as part of the national Dying Matters campaign which runs from 8-14 May.
Hospice Head of Brand and Media Diane Parkes said: “The message of Dying Matters Awareness Week is that the more we have honest conversations about death and dying, the more we can share our hopes and make plans with our loved ones. Knowing the choices and preferences about such issues as whether you would prefer to die at home and whether your funeral is pre-planned can help your family and friends as they support you at end of life.”
John Taylor Hospice has joined with Age Concern Birmingham’s Jubilee Citizens UK project to hold an Every Moment Matters Café in which visitors will be asked to share special moments in their lives and moments they would like to be remembered for.
Taking place at the Age Concern Café in Boldmere’s High Street on Wednesday 10 May between 11am and 3pm, people are invited to drop in at any time for coffee, cake and compelling conversation.
Kelly Hodgson, Senior Support Worker at Jubilee Citizens UK, part of Age Concern Birmingham, said: “Our Boldmere café is a wonderful space for people to come together to share drinks and also share their thoughts about their lives and the moments which make life so special. We’d love as many people as possible to stop by and join our Every Moment Matters Café.”
The hospice will also be asking people to write their dreams, hopes and wishes on a ‘Before I die…’ board which will be hosted by Erdington Library during Dying Matters Awareness Week from 8 to 13 May.
The hospice is a member of BrumYODO, a community collective of hospices, artists, funeral directors and clinicians which has organised a week-long A Matter of Life and Death Festival at mac in Cannon Hill Park. Festival events include films, talks, theatre, craft activities and a series of talks and debates.
John Taylor Hospice CEO Penny Venables will join a panel alongside community campaigner Tommy Whitelaw and St Mary’s CEO Tina Swani to investigate how everyone can work together to create compassionate communities which support people at end of life. Compassionate Communities takes place on Sunday 14 May between 4-5.30pm and tickets will be available free of charge http://brumyodo.org.uk/talks-debates/
Life: Moving, an exhibition of films made by patients and families supported by John Taylor Hospice will be on show at mac during the festival.
Staff and volunteers from John Taylor Hospice are also organising information stands at a number of local venues including City and Heartlands Hospitals and mac during the week.
For more information see www.johntaylorhospice.org.uk http://brumyodo.org.uk/ and http://www.dyingmatters.org/AwarenessWeek