Hospice Care Week Resources

This Hospice Care Week, why not bring the theme Don't leave hospice care to chance to life with some traditional games?

They're a great way to get people involved, raise funds and start conversations about the difference hospice care makes in your local community.

Connect 4

Put a campaign twist on the classic game.

One colour could represent the steps needed to make hospice care more sustainable, while the other represents the barriers standing in the way. As people play, it's a chance to talk about what hospices need to continue providing care for local families.

If you would like to link it to our wider national messaging, weave in our four-point plan from our fair funding campaign.

Guess the Jar

Fill a jar with sweets, counters or tokens and ask people to guess how many are inside.

To make it relevant to your hospice, use the reveal to share a local impact statistic. For example, the number of people supported by your hospice each year, visits made by your community team or hours given by volunteers.

The winner gets a prize, and everyone learns a little more about the impact of hospice care close to home.

Jenga

Give Jenga a hospice twist by writing different parts of hospice care on each block, from nurses and volunteers to fundraising, bereavement support and hospice at home services.

As blocks are removed, the tower becomes less stable, helping show how many different things need to come together to keep hospice care strong. It's a fun activity that can lead to meaningful conversations about the support local hospices rely on.

Think about the venue

Think about a good venue for your event. Your hospice is the best place to start, but if you need to look elsewhere you can get in touch with organisations in the community, such as a library, a local church or mosque, a village hall, or the reception area of a GP surgery might be ideal.

Who's your audience?

Be clear on who the audience for your event is, and how you'll reach them. If it's the patients and families of a hospice or GP surgery, they are likely to be passing through regularly. But if you're putting something on in a local cafe, think about who is likely to be most interested in the event, and how you can make sure they hear about it.

Use our resources

Make use of our range of downloadable and printable resources to decorate your event.

Refreshments

Providing some refreshments is a good idea - there's nothing like a cup of tea and cake to encourage people to get involved. 

Promote your event

You can promote your event via email and social media. But it's also helpful to think about whether any local organisations might help you promote the event, for example in their shop window or via an email newsletter.

Which is the best platform?

Think about which platforms you want to use to host your event online. Zoom is a popular choice, but there are lots of options. Make sure you are well prepared to check the technology is working!

Encouraging people to join in

Online events are brilliant for encouraging lots of people to take part wherever they are, but it can be a little harder to get people talking. Think about how you encourage people to join in, whether that is through a little game, a series of questions, or breaking people into smaller online groups.

Best timing for your audience

Think about the best time for your event based on who you are hoping will attend. Is it better in the evening, after work, or during the day?

Start small!

Don't be worried if your event is small. Lots of people register for online events and then can't make it on the day - but sometimes a small group can have a big impact.