In celebration of Local Newspaper Week, which runs until Sunday, four community figures have shared their thoughts on how the Recorder’s work has made a difference.

Romford Recorder: Saint Francis Hospice's chief executive Pam CourtSaint Francis Hospice's chief executive Pam Court (Image: Archant)

Pam Court, chief executive at Havering-atte-Bower’s Saint Francis Hospice, continues the coverage.

At Saint Francis Hospice, we provide specialist care and support to more than 4,000 local people every year and the Recorder has played a vital role in raising awareness of our services and breaking down some of the misconceptions around hospice care.

For example, in July it featured the wonderful news that the charity was rated “Outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission and during Hospice Care Week in October it highlighted some of the unique ways we help patients and their families.

Just last month, it reported on the first anniversary of our free confidential helpline OrangeLine, which was set up to tackle loneliness and isolation.

It costs £10.4 million every year to deliver our services and we receive just a third of our funding from the government, so every day is a fundraising challenge.

Last year’s annual 10K Star Walk through Romford brought 600 people together and raised £60,000.

And we have no doubt that its success can be partly attributed to the extensive coverage it received in the Recorder leading up to and following the event.

We are incredibly grateful to the Recorder for enabling us to reach out to more people in our community so they are better informed about our services and also for inspiring people to get involved and make a difference to those affected by life-limiting illnesses.

For more on the charity, visit sfh.org.uk. Tomorrow, hear from Mark Halls, chief executive of Hornchurch children’s charity First Step.