With this November marking 10 years since Sarah Crane joined Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) as Chaplain, she’s decided to celebrate the occasion by pushing herself to complete the Milton Keynes Winter Half Marathon on Sunday 8 December 2024.
This is quite a challenge as I normally run around 5k once a week and a half marathon is just over 21k!
MKUH’s Chaplaincy team, proudly led by Sarah, does incredible work every day of the year in providing patients, families, and staff with pastoral, spiritual and religious care. This compassionate care gives space to any person to process the complex emotions that life’s challenges provoke. Their goal is to provide inclusive person-centred care for everyone who accesses our service, whatever their beliefs or world view.
As part of this, they’ve started handing out olive wood holding hearts, as pictured.
Sarah says, “These hearts are a beautiful and tactile reminder of love and the way it shapes our lives. They fit neatly in a palm or in the pocket and might simply serve as a source of strength for someone having a challenging time, including members of staff. They are often particularly significant for someone whose loved one has died, and a heart can be placed in the hand of their loved one with another taken home as a source of comfort in grief. We also offer them to bereaved parents in this way.”
She adds:
We are only able to buy these hearts through generous donations to Milton Keynes Hospital Charity. We buy them in bulk for approximately £2.50 per heart. If I raise £1,000, I will be able to purchase 500 hearts for us to share with those in our hospital community who need them.
Update from Sarah
Amazingly, Sarah’s supporters have helped her exceed her original fundraising target with more than 9 weeks to go. So, she’s decided to extend her target and add four items to the Chaplaincy team’s wishlist—these essential, charitable funded items are regularly provided to patients at MKUH.
- Single use eye masks
- Ear defenders to give respite from the noise
- Paper journals to write any thoughts, feelings, or conversations
- Essential oils which calm and relax
Sarah’s a MK Winter Half Marathon Hero!
We’re pleased to share that Sarah completed the MK Winter Half and raised an incredible £2,720 for Milton Keynes Hospital Charity!
Sarah said, “I’m very happy with my time and still SO grateful to everyone who has sponsored me – your generosity will make such a difference to our work at MKUH.”
