Severn Hospice welcomes £10,000 pandemic donation from Morris Lubricants
One of Shrewsbury’s oldest companies has donated £10,000 to support Severn Hospice which has seen fundraising halted by the pandemic.
The generous donation by Morris Lubricants, which celebrated its 150th birthday last year, comes as a welcome boost to the hospice which opened its first superstore in a 6,000 sq ft building rented from the company exactly two years ago.
In normal times, the superstore sells a wide range of items donated to the hospice. However, due to COVID-19 regulations, it is currently not trading and is instead being used as a centralised stock sorting warehouse to support the hospice’s chain of shops.
The charity has 28 high street shops and an eBay shop which, before the pandemic, were contributing more than £1 million towards the hospice’s work.
Severn Hospice cares for and supports thousands of families across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Mid Wales who are living with an incurable illness.
Norma Ross, the hospice’s director of income generation, said the pandemic has created an incredibly challenging financial situation for the charity.
“The impact has been huge,” she said. “We have to raise another £2 for every £1 we receive from the NHS and overnight we lost almost all of our ability to generate that income. Our shops shut, our fundraising events were cancelled and our supporters were told to stay at home.
“Morris Lubricants’ incredibly generous £10,000 donation is hugely appreciated. We are not out of the woods yet financially and support, such as that from the company, means so much to us.
“We are determined to be able to provide the high standard of care for our patients and their families that we are renowned for. Although the world has changed, we just can’t stop caring.”
Edward Goddard, joint executive chairman of Paterson Enterprises, parent company of Morris Lubricants and Morris Leisure, said: “We are pleased to be able to support Severn Hospice which does such fantastic work caring for and supporting families across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Mid Wales.
“The pandemic has been an especially tough time for the hospice and we are keen to do whatever we can to help ease this burden.”
