Halesworth Community Nursing Care Fund (HCNCF) will soon begin building a valuable resource centre for people with life-limiting illnesses after receiving a generous donation from a local group which smashed through the campaign’s fundraising target.

The Patrick Stead League of Friends has pledged £55,605 towards the information and support centre (ISC) project – which takes the total raised to more than £710,000* and means that work can start once planning permission has been secured.

It is the second time the Friends have supported the campaign, and comes after the group made a £20,000 donation in December 2014.

Karen Kerridge, chair of the Friends, said: “Members of the League of Friends are absolutely delighted to be able to support HCNCF with this innovative project and to take the campaign to its target goal.

“The ISC will be a tremendous boost and a valuable asset to Halesworth and the surrounding area. Our thanks go to the dedicated and hard-working volunteers that have led this campaign over the last two years, and who have made this happen for Halesworth.”

The ISC will be built on land next to Cutler’s Hill Surgery in Halesworth, and will bring a full range of holistic services closer to home for people in north east Suffolk and south Norfolk who have cancer or other life-limiting illnesses. People will be able to drop-in to receive help understanding their diagnosis and coming to terms with their illness.

A range of support will be available for both patients and their families, including benefits advice, children and family support, complementary therapies, counselling and bereavement support. The centre will also provide a venue for local support groups to meet.

It is hoped that construction will begin in 2017, with building work complete by the end of the year and the centre opening in early 2018. HCNCF will continue to raise money to help fund the ISC’s running costs.

Ted Edwards, ISC chairman, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Friends for this fantastic donation, which has helped us reach our fundraising target in just over two years. Their generosity means that our dream of creating this valuable facility for people living in the rural areas surrounding Halesworth can now become a reality.

“We have been overwhelmed by the amazing support we have received from everybody in our local community and would like to pass our thanks to everyone who has helped us so far. We will be continuing to raise money over the coming months to pay for the building’s running costs so that we can make sure it provides the widest range of services for local people when it opens in early 2018.”

For more information about the ISC project, or to make a donation, visit www.halesworthhealth.org/information-and-support-centre

The fundraising appeal’s original target was £714,000. However, the total cost has reduced to £710,000 after the designs for the building were revised.

Photograph showing HCNCF trustees Barbara Kell, Ted Edwards, Frances Lloyd, Rachel Booth and Jane Edwards with League of Friends chair Karen Kerridge and trustees and members Andrew Payne, Josie Dutton, Judith Mesquita, Roger Smith-Howell, Sylvia Hayward, Muriel Barber, Rosemary Smith-Howell and Olive Meen is attached.

Halesworth Community Nursing Care Fund is a local charity (charity number 1155419) which was set up 25 years ago to support people with life-limiting illnesses who wish to die in the comfort and security of their own homes.  It works alongside the NHS and social services to provide extra equipment and 24 hour care in the last days of life along with emotional, physical and practical support at the time when people need it the most. For more information, please visit www.halesworthhealth.org/nursing-care-fund, ‘like’ us on Facebook at “information and support centre fundraising campaign” or follow us on Twitter @Suffolk_ISC