The Month of March sees the people of Sheffield take part in “The Great Pie & Peas Up”, in aid of St Luke’s Hospice.

Events are being hosted in homes, workplaces and communities in an effort to raise much needed funds for a new In Patient Unit. This facility is urgently needed to provide the best possible specialist care for Sheffield people who have life limiting illnesses.

Many thousands of lives have been touched by St Luke’s. People who are patients themselves, or have a friend or relative who has been cared for at St Luke’s know at first hand the value of what this charity does.

St Luke’s helps people with illnesses such as Cancer, Motor Neurone Disease, HIV and end stage heart, lung and kidney conditions. Sometimes patients are admitted to the hospice for a short time and are discharged home once their symptoms are under control, thanks to the expert care they receive.

Around 600 unpaid volunteers help 170 staff deliver these services. Every year St Luke’s helps 1400 patients, plus their families and carers – about 5000 people all told.

In 2013-14 St Luke’s will need to raise more than £4.5 million of the £7.5 million it costs to keep running. Government funding via the NHS Sheffield Primary Care Trust covers a declining proportion of the operating costs – currently 31%. It costs £850 per hour to run the hospice, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If this income was to cease then St Luke’s could only continue for six months.

To help a worthy cause, why not take part in “The Great Pie and Peas Up”.

To find out more please visit www.stlukeshospice.org.uk/pieandpeasup