Category: News

She asked him to marry her, and he said yes. After being together for 38 years, Marg and Roy were married earlier this month in the small chapel at Mary Potter Hospice. As Marg walked down the Inpatient Unit on the arm of her honorary mother Phyllis, the staff of the Hospice lined up to…

After 40 years of nursing, Sandra still wanted to help others. As she began scaling back her career in healthcare, she looked for opportunities to volunteer. “I wanted to do something that involved helping people.” she says. Sandra knew the Hospice was a good cause to commit her time to. Her husband’s cancer diagnosis made…

Annette believes food tastes better when it’s made with love. As a Volunteer Cook at Mary Potter Hospice’s Kāpiti Day Unit, Annette brings a smile to many patients’ faces with her culinary skills. “It is a humbling experience to be able to share and give something to other people who are going through such a…

Every day across Wellington, Porirua and Kāpiti, Mary Potter Hospice is collecting used goods for its Hospice shops. Behind some of those collections is Colin. Colin has been volunteering for the Hospice for two years – and has enjoyed every minute. “I love moving around the city and meeting different people and the different volunteers…

When Jane was made redundant, she decided she wanted to do something useful with her time. She began looking for volunteer opportunities – and quickly found one at Mary Potter Hospice. “I just knew I had to do something. Even if it was just one day a week. A friend of mine said, ‘Why don’t…

As a keen sewer and avid op shop lover, it was a natural choice for Kossoma to volunteer at Mary Potter Hospice’s Cuba Street store. Over three hundred volunteers generously support Mary Potter Hospice by giving time to the Mary Potter Hospice shops across Wellington, Porirua and Kāpiti. Kossoma is one of those three hundred…

An illness doesn’t just impact a patient, it touches everyone they are close to. That is why Mary Potter Hospice offers a companion service for patients who are living in their own home. Lead by Julie, a team of volunteers spend time with patients and their families to help ease the stress of what they…

Things have been quieter without the usual buzz of patients, whānau and staff filling the halls of the Inpatient Unit (IPU) at Mary Potter Hospice. During the lockdown, restrictions were put in place to limit the number of people allowed in the building. Clinical coordinator for the IPU Annette says that while there have been…

The restrictions due to COVID-19 have been challenging for all families who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Mary Potter Hospice’s Bereavement Lead Hazel and the Hospice’s bereavement teams have been trying to soften the blow of the lockdown by keeping in touch with families. Bereavement teams have social workers and counsellors who…

Emma never thought a hospice would feel like home. Like most people, she had no desire to enter the doors of Mary Potter. But in 2019, when her father John  was told the cancer he had been battling for over a year was moving through his body, they made the short trip from the hospital…

Shaun begins his day with a walk to work. Well, sort of. “It is a psychological walk to work. I walk around the block and then sit down at my desk. At the end of the day I go for a walk again – that way it feels like I am still commuting.” One of…

Life lost its colour for Don when his wife Mary passed away. With his lifelong companion gone, his usual routine disappeared and he feel into a slump. “I used to take my wife for a drive every afternoon. Once she passed, I found it very difficult to fill that void in.” It was through chatting…