‘By the People, For the People’ story of Corby’s Lakelands Day Care Hospice revealed in new book
By the People, For the People, the story of Corby’s Lakelands Day Care Hospice, has been revealed in a new book that tells the story of how one of the town’s best-loved charities was established.
The many ups and downs of the 15-year community effort to open the Lakelands Day Care Hospice is told in the new book, published this week and launched on Sunday (July 26).
To mark this year’s silver anniversary of the charity, for the first time the full story of how the community from Corby and the towns and villages beyond raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to build the hospice in Butland Road has been revealed.
By the People, For the People charts how the dream of breast cancer survivor Jean Clark came to life.
She and fellow founders Vic Hardy and Ray Burke mobilised the community in a mass fundraising drive throughout the 1990s to provide a place of support for people with cancer and other life limiting illnesses.
Author Sarah Ward, who was commissioned to write the book by the charity, said: “Researching the history of the Lakelands has been a real pleasure and at times emotional.
“What I discovered was an incredible woman in Jean Clark, who used every ounce of her determination and fight to ensure that people who were going through their toughest times had somewhere to turn to for support.
“She and her team were determined to have an independent hospice, that was outside of NHS control, to ensure its longevity and the fact it is still thriving and helping so many people today is testament to the foundations they built.
“Along the way I have spoken to the many people involved in the effort to build Lakelands, who have shared their memories and in this book, there are many elements that are being shared for the first time.”
Jean, Vic and Ray’s campaign was taken up by this newspaper and its readers in the mid 1990s, boosting the amount of money that was raised.
The Lakelands founders will be remembered at the Birthday Bazaar taking place at the hospice on Sunday, July 26, from 11am to 4pm.
Jean’s son Stewart said: “The Lakelands was my mum’s last bit of charitable work. I am proud of my mum and what she did for Corby and its people.
“She had a heart of gold. She would go out of her way to help. She would always put others before herself.”
The book is priced at £9.99 and has been produced by Northants publisher Hickathrift Press. Hard copies and the Kindle version is available to buy on Amazon. Profits will support the charity.
David Renshaw, who was recently appointed as chair of the Lakelands, said: “We are delighted to have the story of Lakelands Hospice published.
“Sarah has really captured the spirit of Jean, Vic and Ray and their tireless efforts to bring their dream into the reality that we see today. Celebrating our silver anniversary is a real milestone for us that has been achieved because of their original vision.”