Big Build appeal: Overgate Hospice supporters urge Calderdale community to donate to campaign

Hannah and Amy Sharp, whose mum spent seven and a half weeks at Overgate Hospice last summer before she passed away from cancer, have urged the public to support the charity’s campaign to build a new Inpatient Unit and Day Hospice at its site in Elland.

They said: “Just give whatever you can. You never know when you’re going to need the service yourself.

“Just give as much as you can because you don’t realise how much the hospice will mean to you afterwards.”

Speaking in a video to raise awareness of the work Overgate does, the sisters said: “We decided that her quality of care was the most important to keep her comfortable.

"The care we were provided with was amazing and mum was just looked after with so much dignity and respect.

"We really couldn’t ask for better people to care for mum in her last days.”

Speaking at the launch of the public phase of the Big Build appeal last week, Overgate Hospice CEO Tracey Wilcocks said the Inpatient Unit currently has 12 beds, shared wards, little family space and only two bathrooms.

Plans for the new Inpatient Unit include 16 private rooms – all with en-suite facilities – a private terrace and space for family to stay.

Speaking about their thoughts on the plans for the new hospice, Hannah and Amy said: “I think [the new site] would have given us a lot more privacy, and allow us to have difficult conversations with a doctor and with mum without feeling uncomfortable and hearing other conversations.

“When you know what’s imminent for yourselves it’s quite hard to listen to other families going through it at the same time.

“[Having the private room] would have made it feel even more like home than what is already does, because you could just have that space to make it totally your own and there’s no way that you would have to swap with anyone or you’d have to move around.”

It costs around £5.5million a year to run the hospice, £4.5million of which is sourced from the Calderdale community.

The Big Build will cost £12.75million, 76 per cent of which has already been raised, and £3million is still required to make the plans a reality. This means that an additional £1.5million in donations will be required each year for the next two years to complete the Big Build.

As well as the hospice’s annual core fundraising events, such as the Colour Run and Midnight Walk, Overgate Hospice will be running additional events to raise funds for the appeal, including the Big Leap – a skydive – and a Sahara Desert trek.

More information – including details about the plans for the Big Build – can be found on the Big Build webpage, or visit Overgate Hospice’s website or X page (formerly Twitter) for additional information and content about the charity and how you can get involved in fundraising.