The Friends of the Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital have always played an important part in the life of the Hospital. The principal object of the Friends is to be the community facing arm of the Charity working closely with clinical staff and patients to support the needs of the Hospital; to raise funds in the community and to deliver resources which enhance the services provided by the Hospital. There is also an obligation to provide care within the community to patients, former patients and others in need of support.
The Friends Committee hold regular meetings with staff members, the Board, the fundraisers and the Liaison Committee, to ensure that they are up to date with all requests for funding.
In the 1990s the community came together to help raise the £3,000,000 needed to erect the current building. At present, we are actively seeking new members of the Friends to support our ambitious plans to develop more services closer to home for our community. These include the provision of MRI, diagnostics and ultrasound services, and in the long term, the re-establishment of a minor injury and illness unit.
Members are kept up to date with hospital news and events with a triannual newsletter. There are many opportunities for Friends to become involved in our fundraising efforts should they wish to and they are invited to contact the Company Secretary, Francesca Clent, at fundraising@ryehospital.org.uk, for more information.
Our funding comes primarily from the generous bequests, legacies, donations, fundraising and membership (either annual or Life) from our wonderful local community. The Friends Committee, in discussion with the Liaison Committee, use funds to assist with hospital purchases for the benefit of our patients and wellbeing of our dedicated staff.
The Charity was established to provide equipment and facilities for the benefit of patients and staff. The Friends have raised many thousands of pounds, providing money to build the physiotherapy unit, day room and providing a variety of items of equipment, including special beds, baths, chairs, the coffee machine, televisions and a Theratrainer. The Friends have also paid for the bus shelter outside the hospital. Funds were also provided towards the renovation of the reception area and equipment for the kitchen. The Friends have also been able to provide essential supplies for patients in need and offer small wellbeing gifts to our hospital staff.
A variety of fundraising events have been held over the years including the Grand Annual Raffle, Golf Day, Fashion Show, Boot Fair (in association with Jempsons’), Open Gardens, Bridge afternoons, Auctions, Quiz Nights, Film Nights, Touch Tennis Tournament and Summer Fête. For details of what we have been able to buy in recent years with our fundraising please click here.
We are very lucky to have loyal groups of both Annual and Life members, but we are always looking to extend our membership for the benefit of our patients and staff at Rye Hospital. Becoming a member is a wonderful way to say thank you to our staff for their excellent care during a personal period of treatment or that of a relative or friend. Members are kept up to date with hospital news and events with a bi-annual newsletter. There are many opportunities for our members to get involved in our fundraising efforts should they wish to, and they are invited to contact the Chairman of the Friends, Paula Riley at fundraising@ryehospital.org.uk for more information.
If you would like to join us, please either print out and complete a Membership Application form and return it to our Company Secretary with your subscription or contact Francesca Clent on 01797 228842 to ask for a form to be posted to you. If you pay tax do please consider completing the Gift Aid Declaration section of the Membership Application form to enable us to reclaim 25p in every £1 of your subscription at no cost to you.
If you would like to make a regular donation, please download and complete one of our Standing Order forms and take this to the local branch of your bank.
You can make a donation by writing a cheque payable to Rye, Winchelsea & District Memorial Hospital Ltd and send it to:
The Company Secretary
Rye, Winchelsea & District Memorial Hospital Ltd
Peasmarsh Road
Rye
East Sussex
TN31 7UD
or by downloading and completing the relevant form(s):
You can also leave a legacy to the Charity which will make an incredible difference to the work we are able to do in the future. Leaving a gift to a charity is an amazingly generous way to offer your support beyond your own lifetime. If you would like to bequeath an amount to our Charity and have already made a Will, you can request your solicitor to draw up a codicil. For that purpose, our Charity details are:
Name of Charity: Rye, Winchelsea & District Memorial Hospital Ltd
Registered Charity in England & Wales No: 1014232
Address:
The Company Secretary
Rye, Winchelsea & District Memorial Hospital Ltd
Peasmarsh Road
Rye
East Sussex
TN31 7UD
Please contact the Company Secretary on 01797 228842 or email francesca@ryehospital.org.uk for more information.
The Friends of the Rye, Winchelsea & District Memorial Hospital has recently added another way our supporters can help our Charity in its fundraising efforts. Every time you make a purchase on Amazon (including Amazon Prime) 0.5% of your eligible purchase cost will be donated to our Charity. Please rest assured that the prices you pay are the same. The information provided below is available on the Amazon website.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support a charity of your choice every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.co.uk on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping App for iOS and Android phones. When you shop AmazonSmile, you will find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as amazon.co.uk, with the bonus that AmazonSmile will donate a portion of the purchase price to your selected charity.
To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.co.uk on your web browser or activate AmazonSmile on your Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone (found under Settings on your app). When you are using the app, always check for the AmazonSmile logo to ensure you are activated for AmazonSmile.
AmazonSmile customers on Android devices with version 5.0+ or iOS devices with version 12+, who have upgraded to the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app can find AmazonSmile listed in the Settings menu. From there, you can follow onboarding instructions to activate AmazonSmile on your device.
AmazonSmile renewals happen twice a year to help keep AmazonSmile on mobile app. AmazonSmile will notify you of these renewals via push notifications and through in-app notifications. If you miss a renewal, you can reactivate at any time by repeating the steps to ‘turn on’ AmazonSmile on your mobile device. There is no renewal period for browser shopping on AmazonSmile, which you can use any time by typing ‘smile.amazon.co.uk’ into your browser.
Millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations to charities by Amazon. You will see eligible products marked ‘Eligible for smile.amazon.co.uk donation’ on their product detail pages. Recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible.
Yes, you use the same account on amazon.co.uk and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, Wish List, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.
On your first visit to smile.amazon.co.uk, you need to select a charitable organisation to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. We will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make through AmazonSmile will result in a donation. AmazonSmile will occasionally contact you about donation amounts disbursed to your chosen charity or about the programme.
Alternatively, with one click you can shop on AmazonSmile at https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1014232-0, and Amazon donates to Rye, Winchelsea And District Memorial Hospital Limited, at no cost to you.
AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees) of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping and handling, gift wrapping fees, VAT, and service charges, and less any rebates, returns, and bad debt. From time to time, we may offer special, limited time promotions that increase the donation amount on one or more products or services or provide for additional donations to charitable organisations. Special terms and restrictions may apply. Please see the relevant promotion for complete details.
Leaving a gift to the Hospital’s Charity is an amazingly generous way to offer your support beyond your own lifetime. If you would like to bequeath an amount to the Hospital’s Charity and have already made a Will, you can ask your solicitor to draw up a codicil. If you would like further details please contact Heringtons Solicitors in Rye on 01797 222955 or click here for more details.