ST Mary’s Hospice is celebrating 30 years of providing care, comfort and support.

This year, the charity will celebrate the extraordinary spirit of the hospice as shown by its staff, volunteers, patients and their loved ones and the community since first opening its doors in 1989.

The charity and hospice bosses would like to thank as many supporters as possible and so have launched 30 weeks of activities with a Thank You Day, which started off the celebrations on March 1.

Staff and volunteers donated their time to personally thank as many supporters as they can through telephone calls; delivering cupcakes to local businesses; sharing stories and thank yous at the hospice, in the local press and on social media.

It costs more than £3m a year to keep the hospice open and services running, with 18 per cent of funding coming from the NHS and the rest from the community.

As part of the charity’s 30th anniversary celebrations, activities will run for the next 30 weeks to celebrate and share the contributions of its community, staff and volunteers, who raise patient and family care to the highest level.

The hospice’s Walk to Remember is back again this year on Friday, July 5 and a number of activities, such as survival of the fittest and a night walk up Helvellyn, are also taking place as part of the anniversary celebrations.

Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for 8-16-year-olds, with adults pledging a minimum sponsorship of £30.

There will also be the 30FOR30, which involves sharing one story a week for 30 weeks, aiming to showcase 30 voices and 30 faces that shape the hospice service.

Mel Dixon from the hospice said: “We are excited to be back with one of our best-loved events. Our Walk to Remember brings our community together in a unique and special way to remember loved ones while raising vital funds for the hospice.”

If you have any photographs or a story about St Mary’s that you would like to share, please get in touch via yourstory@stmaryshospice.org.uk.