The Lewis Foundation – providing support and comfort in hospital
Recognising how daunting it can be to spend time in hospital undergoing cancer treatment, The Lewis Foundation provides hand delivered gifts and support packs to adults in hospital each week.
The team behind The Lewis Foundation
Founded by Lorraine and Lee Lewis in 2016, the foundation came about after Lee’s mother was hospitalised with cancer. They were so struck by the fear, upset and loneliness faced by individuals undergoing cancer treatment in hospital, that they were determined to make a real difference. So, they set about sourcing donations, as well as packaging and delivering gifts, whilst giving support to those on oncology wards.
Today, Lee and Lorraine still run the foundation alongside their full-time jobs, alongside a team of almost 50 volunteers and hundreds of regular supporters, all working together to improve the experience of cancer patients in hospital.
What they do to support cancer patients
The Lewis Foundation has gone from delivering 80 gift packs a month to one hospital, to delivering over 2,500 gifts to seven hospitals in the East Midlands every month. Sometimes the gifts are things that individuals simply can’t afford themselves, sometimes an admission to hospital has occurred suddenly meaning patients don’t have the items that they need to feel comfortable overnight.
Sometimes however, it is as much about the company that comes with the packages as the items themselves, as for many individuals in hospital, the volunteers are their only visitors. The team relies entirely on donations, fundraising support and volunteers and the work they do makes a huge difference to how cancer patients feel.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE LEWIS FOUNDATION
https://www.thelewisfoundation.co.uk
