Darite Primary Academy near Liskeard brought the festive cheer to the moors with their amazing Rudolph Run!
From Reception to Year 6, every child loved decorating their antlers, getting active in the fresh air, and raising money for a cause close to their hearts. Supporting St Luke’s means so much to this small but mighty school community, where families know first-hand the compassionate care we provide for loved ones at the end of life.
A sprinkling of Christmas cheer has brightened up our specialist unit this week.
A group of kind-hearted volunteers from Land Registry, Plymouth volunteered their time to decorate the Christmas trees that have generously been donated to St Luke’s by Blue Diamond Endsleigh Garden Centre Ivybridge.
The team spent the day adding touches of tinsel and baubles to the entrance, reception and on the wards, bringing some festive joy to not only the people staying with us, but their families, visitors and all our staff and volunteers.
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.
Men’s Day Out – 12km Charity Walk • Pint • Pasty • Rugby
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 has opened the doors to its brand-new flagship store at Charles Cross – claiming the title of Plymouth’s biggest charity shop.
We have relocated our flagship furniture store from the former Toys ‘R’ Us building at Western Approach to a prime city-centre location, just yards away from shopping hub Drake Circus.
There to cut the ribbon were members of our Urgent Care Team, who are committed to providing our compassionate end-of-life care and bespoke support to people at home.
Valerie and her husband Michael have shared a lifetime together – surviving war, raising a family, and building memories that span continents. Recently, Val was diagnosed with cancer of the blood, and her greatest wish was simple: to stay at home with the man she’s loved for 66 years.
Thanks to St Luke’s, that wish came true. Our team is there every day, bringing comfort, dignity, and compassion – because home is where love lives.
“They’re just like friends coming to visit you… It helps the family too. People forget about the family.”
This is hospice care at its heart: not just caring for patients, but wrapping families in support when they need it most.
Your support is how we make moments like this possible. Thank you.
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.
The prospect of coming to a hospice can be a daunting and scary one. We have tried to ease any uncertainty with our brand-new virtual tour.
Thanks to local company Made Snappy 360 who created the virtual tour, you can now step inside the doors of our specialist unit at Turnchapel from the comfort of your home.
Whether you are coming to the hospice building yourself, from home or hospital, or visiting a loved one, we hope that by exploring the rooms and gardens any anxiety can be lessened. Many of you, including young children, may have never even stepped foot inside a hospice, so will be unsure of what to expect, but thanks to the virtual tour you can now explore the rooms ahead of time, including the family play room!
