Chris’s story

Chris is a regular attendee of our Compassionate Café in Harpenden, as well as a committed fundraiser, but she first experienced Rennie Grove Peace’s care and support after her husband Len was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“When we were told Len’s pancreatic cancer was incurable, I got in touch with Rennie Grove, as it was then, and they said they would come and look after him at home. They were so helpful, just wonderful. Nurses and carers visited us at home and looked after him right to the end. I don’t know how I would have got through it without them.”

After Len’s death in 2021, Chris decided to join one of our Compassionate Cafés, which provide a warm and welcoming space for anyone who has experienced bereavement, for regular companionship and support from others who have been bereaved.

Chris is now a regular attendee of our Compassionate Café in Harpenden. She has been coming to the café ever since it started and has only ever missed four sessions. She is often joined at the Café by her adopted dog Chloe, who she shares with her granddaughter. Chloe very happily comes along to the café sessions with Chris, and is a favourite of the other attendees!

Chris says that joining the Compassionate Café has been a really positive experience: “It’s been a big source of comfort, and I meet a lot of interesting people.”

Chris with Chloe

As well as being a regular attendee of the Compassionate Café, Chris is also a committed fundraiser for Rennie Grove Peace, having taken on a number of challenges with her family.

For her 80th birthday, Chris decided to step out of her comfort zone and climb to the top of the O2, raising money in memory of her husband, Len.

Chris says, “After Len died, I said to my daughter, Helen, we must raise money to help them. Helen has done all kinds to raise money – like a skydive and a running challenge. I thought ‘I can’t sit here and let other people do it all. I need to do something too’.”

After thinking about something that would be a real challenge, Chris landed on the idea of climbing the roof of the O2. She set the date – the day of her 80^th birthday – and invited her family and friends to join her, including daughter Helen and grandson James.

Chris says:

“I chose this challenge because it was totally outside my comfort zone! I’m terrified of heights but we did it. And it was so exciting! The views were just beautiful. You can see for miles!

“It poured with rain while we had our safety briefing and got kitted out, but remarkably it stopped just moments before our climb, so we climbed up in dry weather! Just as we began our descent, it started to pour with rain again. It rained so hard that my raincoat was wetter on the inside than it was on the outside! But we all just laughed about it and had fun anyway.”

Chris set out to raise £500, and ended up raising £1300 in sponsorship, plus a £10,000 donation from a supporter of one of the other climbers. Chris said:

“People have been so generous in supporting this challenge. I’m so touched by all the support to help us give something back to Rennie Grove Peace.”

Chris and her family have already set their sights on their next challenge! For the next family fundraising adventure, Chris’s granddaughter will be doing a Wing Walk to raise funds for Rennie Grove Peace.