A £3.5million fundraising campaign is under way to build a hospice centre in Kensington and Chelsea .

Royal Trinity Hospice is celebrating 125 years of caring for people in the Royal borough and marked the anniversary with reception hosted by the Mayor Cllr Elizabeth Rutherford .

The hospice is based in Clapham and provides free, compassionate care and support to people with progressive, life-limiting illnesses and their families and friends.

It is the only dedicated end-of-life care provider for 750,000 people living in central and south-west London, and last year 148 patients from the borough benefited from Trinity’s services, while 40 friends and relatives of patients accessed its bereavement support service.

To mark its anniversary the hospice has launched a special campaign to raise £3.5million to establish a centre in the Kensington and Chelsea from which staff can work to support local residents in their own homes.

It will include a café and information centre, providing a safe space for everyone to contemplate, talk about and plan for death.

Speaking at the reception, the mayor said: “For 125 years Trinity Hospice has been caring for our residents at a very emotional and critical time in their lives.

“I am delighted to be able to host this reception as a sign of our gratitude for the dedicated care it has provided over the years and to be able to help support its anniversary campaign.

“It is a further opportunity for the Royal Borough and Trinity to work together for the good of our community.”

Dallas Pounds, chief executive of Royal Trinity Hospice, said: “We would like to extend our gratitude to the people of the Royal Borough who volunteer, fundraise and shop at Trinity – without you, we could not continue.

“We look forward to serving the people of Kensington and Chelsea for another 125 years.”

Former K&C mayor, Cllr Charles Williams, chose Royal Trinity Hospice as his mayoral charity during his year in office in 2013/14.

For more information about Trinity or to donate to the appeal go to www.royaltrinityhospice.london or follow on twitter @trinityhospice and #Trinity125.

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