We're asking the people of Sheffield to get behind our latest fundraising campaign by sponsoring a St Luke’s nurse with a regular, monthly donation, to ensure that expert hospice care can be here for years to come.

Fronting our new Sponsor a Nurse campaign is Community Nurse, Lori Marples, who provides expert palliative care to patients in their homes across the city. She says growing demand for hospice care and rising costs mean support from local people has never been more important.

The campaign launches in our 55th year of caring for Sheffield. While our anniversary is a significant milestone, it comes at a challenging time for hospices across the UK.

Although we have not reduced our clinical services or the number of people we support, we continue to face significant financial pressures. We only receive funding for around a quarter of our running costs, meaning more than £11 million must be raised every year to keep vital services running. That’s over £200,000 every week.

Sponsoring a St Luke's nurse through a monthly donation gives us a reliable source of income, helping to ensure expert care is available for local patients and families when they need it most.

Nurse, Lori, says the importance of supporting St Luke’s with a regular monthly donation means more now than ever.

“Right now, my colleagues and I are caring for more people than ever before,” she said. “Demand is rising, costs are increasing and the pressure on every member of our team is increasing.”

“Statistics show that one in three people still do not have access to the care they need through their terminal illness.* That’s something we’re determined to change.”

Lori’s motivations for getting into palliative care nursing, are extremely personal.

“Like lots of children, my childhood dream was to become a nurse. I had a natural instinct to help and care for others and as someone proud to be from Sheffield, I wanted to support my local community by being part of the St Luke’s team.”

“In 2014, after the death of my grandma, I was driven to follow that dream. When she was at the end of her life, the care she received in hospital was different to our expectations, and our family had little understanding of palliative care.

“That experience shaped my determination to make a difference by providing more compassionate, dignified support for patients and their families. Being able to make a difference in someone’s life, at the hardest time, is something I feel incredibly privileged to do.”

But Lori says she can only do this thanks to the people of Sheffield.

“When you sponsor a St Luke’s nurse, you’re helping me and my colleagues be there when it matters most. Whether that’s in someone’s home, on our In Patient Centre, or at the end of the phone when a family needs reassurance. Every moment of care we provide is only possible because of the generosity of people across Sheffield.”

*Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, January 2026