A HOSPICE room has been named in tribute to the unstinting support from a family of Newport business people.
Successful industrialist Ian Cummings was managing director of Newport-based Whitehead Building Services when he first chose to support St David’s Hospice Care.
He has been joined in his support by his wife Jan, daughter Hayley, son-in-law Rhys Morton, who is now the managing director of Whiteheads, and son Bradley, who is co founder and chief executive of Newport’s Tiny Rebel Brewery.
Room five, Crickhowell, in the new, £5 million, 15-bed St David’s Hospice Care in-patient hospice at Malpas, Newport, has been dedicated to Whitehead Building Services, Tiny Rebel and 54321 Cymru, in recognition of the family’s charity fundraising events over recent years.
Each of the 15 rooms at the hospice, named after either a South Wales castle or river, have now been dedicated.
The family are involved in a huge variety of fund raising initiatives for the charity including the celebrated annual 54321 Cymru European bike ride, coordinated by Hayley, the Whitehead Tour de Gwent cycle event and the Whitehead Golf Day, organised by Rhys.
Whitehead is also a supporter of St David’s Hospice Care’s hugely-important lottery by match funding employee players’ contributions.
Ian Cummings said: “I was really, really chuffed when I was approached by Emma Saysell, from St David’s Hospice Care, and offered the chance to name a room at the hospice. It’s a tremendous honour.
“St David’s Hospice Care carries out fantastic work throughout our community. We’re pleased, both as a business and as a family, to have been able to do our bit over the years to help the charity. The offer, when it came, to name the final room in the inpatient hospice was completely unexpected. It is a lasting and memorable gesture which we value deeply.”
Emma Saysell, chief executive of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “Ian, Jan and their family along with Whitehead and Tiny Rebel have been simply fantastic supporters over the years. The range of ways that they have supported us is simply staggering. We really can’t thank them all enough for what they have done and what they continue to do to help St David’s Hospice Care.”
Kris Broome, of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “Ian and his family are a perfect example of how and why St David’s Hospice can continue to provide the free services to patients and their families facing the most difficult time of their lives. Family and staff members of both businesses are always keen to support events and campaigns that we organise, they truly are an inspiration to us with their drive and passion to make things happen. As a family, they appreciate that we simply could not provide our free services without the support of the local community.”