Volunteers are the quiet strength behind St Luke’s, offering time, compassion and practical help when it matters most. During Volunteers’ Week 2026 (1 – 7 June), we celebrate the generosity, resilience and humanity of the people who support our patients, families and communities every day.
Schools in East Cornwall are opening up brave conversations about death, dying, loss and bereavement with children, teachers and families with the aid of a transformative community education programme created by St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth.
Glamorous singing star, TV character actress, inspirational and loving mother, vivacious and supportive grandmother and great grandmother, Jean Dike lived her extraordinarily full life with dignity, elegance and grace until the very end.
One of Plymouth’s best-loved entertainers and matriarch of a large, unconventional, artistic family, she embraced several identities during her lifetime.
Bereavement is hard at any time of year, but the festive season – and Christmas itself -can feel particularly challenging for anyone experiencing grief. No-one understands this more than us. As well as providing specialist end-of-life care for people with terminal illness, we offer their family members bereavement support too.
This week (2-8 December) is National Grief Awareness Week, in association with The Good Grief Trust. The aim of the week is to raise awareness of grief, highlight the support on offer and to normalise conversations around it.
Step up for each other, stride out for hospice care – St Luke’s Men’s Day Out is back for 2026!
Walk with us on Saturday 14 March 2026 and show families in our community they’re not alone. By joining the mass of big-hearted men marching through Plymouth, you’ll help bring St Luke’s compassionate, expert care to those who need it most.
We believe in celebrating the special people who are no longer with us, especially during the festive season, which can sometimes be particularly difficult.
As you know, at St Luke’s, we are here to support terminally ill patients and their families who will be spending their final Christmas together, as well as those facing their first Christmas without a dear loved one.
The one thing we never forget is that people are not just their illnesses – their illness is something that happens to them. With that in mind, we make sure we focus on the entire life of each individual patient and what matters most to them and their family members. We do our best to provide the support that allows them to enjoy and make the very most of the time they have left together. And later, we carry on being there for those left behind as they cope with the pain of loss.
We invite you all to join us at our Light Up a Life Remembrance Services on Tuesday 16 December to remember and celebrate those we have loved.
St Luke’s Compassionate Schools programme encourages and empowers conversations in schools and colleges about death and dying so that staff and pupils can help support and comfort children and young people, and their families, when they are facing the loss of someone close.
Figures show that one in 29 children in the UK are affected by the terminal illness or loss of a close family member – that’s roughly one child in every classroom. Through our close contact with local families in times of crisis, we know how important it is for grieving children to feel well supported not only by their class teachers, but also by their fellow pupils and other school staff.
Adopting the Compassionate Schools ethos means better understanding of bereavement and the emotions associated with it, and an attitude of caring and kindness becomes an integral part of the school day.
You may have spotted eight-year-old Ellis Jenkins out and about on our Tour de Moor posters this year.
An avid cyclist, Ellis completed the Tour de Moor last year with is mum Katie in memory of his grandad and he is set to do it all again this year.
Whatever the weather, Ellis, from Modbury, can be found out riding his bike. With a love for Harry Potter, tractors, and his latest hobby – learning to skateboard – Ellis will give anything a go. He’s also a keen rugby player and a member of the Beavers, and when it comes to cycling, there’s no stopping him.
Ellis took part in our Tour de Moor last year for the first time and since then, he has been excited to do it all over again, putting his gears to the test.
Katie said: “I’ve been doing spin for a few years now and it has definitely helped me keep up with him! We are an outdoorsy family and try to get outside as much as possible. We cycle the lanes and take his bike to some of the fields near us and he loves going downhill really fast and will cycle back up again! We go to the local pump tracks with his friends, which he loves, and to Haldon Forest to do the bike trails and pump tracks there.”
“Supporting St Luke’s through the Ironman feels like the closest thing I can offer to a thank-you note.”
Pete Thacker completed the Leeds Ironman last week – consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run – in memory of his brother David, who was cared for by St Luke’s back in 2023.
Pete, from Otley, near Leeds is a self-described “keen albeit rather slow cyclist and runner”. He decided to take on his second Ironman in Leeds on July 27, completing it in a fantastic 13 hours and16 minutes.
“I completed my first Ironman around twelve years ago, but the body is older now and responding to training in slightly more painful ways than it did back then! That said, there’s nothing quite like the sense of achievement when you cross the finish line whether you run, walk or crawl over it. There’s a strange enjoyment in pushing yourself to that point. When you come into the transition area for the second time to start the run, someone always says, ‘last bit now’ but what they don’t mention is that the last bit is a full marathon!”
Age is no barrier when it comes to our Midnight Walkers. At 78 and 87, Jean Turfkruyer and Bernie Massey will be some of our oldest participants at our Midnight Walk on Friday, but the friends are not letting their age stop them from taking part and making a difference.
Jean and Bernie are two of our Compassionate Friends who volunteer at our Friends in the Park Compassionate Café at the Well Being Hub at Central Park.
The pair first met four years ago when the café was first set up for members of the community who are experiencing loss, bereavement or maybe affected by life limiting illness to meet.
