The leadership team at the Brackendowns Baptist Church is organizing a Family Fun Walk over 5km in aid of Stepping Stone Hospice on Saturday, 5 August 2017, in Brackendowns.

From a few makeshift shelves in an office to two containers converted into a 2nd hand shop to the beautiful The Charity Shop in Alberton Mall! This is the story of Stepping Stone Hospice & Care Services’ journey of creating a fundraising avenue whereby donated 2nd hand goods are being sold and the proceeds being used to strengthen the organization’s fundraising budget.

Mega Couch & Mattress, in partnership with Dynapedic Beds, gave away two beds to the value of R11 000 through a raffle in aid of Stepping Stone Hospice & Care Services. The winners were announced on Friday 26 May 2017 – Debi Dare from Alberton won the double bed, whilst Shannon Waters from Alberton won the single bed.

The Dynamic Charity Society, previously known as the Bits and Bytes Group, held their 6th annual Charity Golf Day on Thursday, 25 May, 2017 at the Blue Valley Golf Estate in Midrand. They chose Stepping Stone Hospice & Care Services as one of the three charities to benefit from the proceeds and handed over a cheque for the amount of R15 000 to hospice at the prize-giving dinner.

This past Saturday, 20 May, saw the start of the Alberton Bowling Club’s Ladies ‘Trips’ tournament, which is set to run over five Saturdays during May and June – culminating in a grand final on 24 June. Behind the competitiveness of it all though lies a spirit of generosity as the Alberton ladies team has decided to dedicate the tournament to raising funds for Stepping Stone Hospice.

Tears flowed freely as Stepping Stone Hospice CEO ,Tersia Burger, addressed the ladies of Café la Plume’s Wednesday ‘Social Club’ in Glenanda on 17 May. Tersia spoke about what she’s learnt about loss and grief after the passing of her daughter Vicky in 2013, who was the inspiration behind Stepping Stone Hospice. “At the beginning it feels like a tsunami, with wave after wave of utter despair hitting you,” said Tersia, adding that “over time the waters begin to calm a little and then, right out of the blue, something triggers a memory and a giant wave appears out of nowhere and hits you again.”

Great excitement is building at Stepping Stone Hospice as the retail team gets set to open the hospice’s newest charity shop, on 1 June 2017, in the Alberton Mall (opposite the iconic Springbok Pharmacy).

In celebration of International Nurses’ Day on Friday, 12 May, the clinical team at Stepping Stone Hospice was treated to an ‘appreciation lunch’ at the hospice’s In-Patient Unit in New Market Park, prepared with love by Stepping Stone’s very own Clinical Services Manager, Sr Sheryl Newman and CEO, Tersia Burger.

Stepping Stone Hospice CEO, Tersia Burger, and Fundraising Manager, Marietjie Tame, were invited as guests of the Alberton Record to a breakfast brunch hosted by Alberton High on Friday morning, 12 May. There they met the “the big man” Jeremy Mansfield, who was guest speaker at the breakfast. 

Alberton LewenSentrum hosted their Annual Golf Day on Thursday, 11 May, at Reading Country Club, with a portion of the funds raised donated to Stepping Stone Hospice. This is the 3rd year in a row that hospice has received a donation from their golf day and we are extremely grateful to Pastor Andries Enslin and the rest of his team and congregation for their continued support.

Just in time for the chilly weather, these lovely ladies from the community put their knitting, crocheting and sewing skills to work, to make blankets, scarves, beanies and the like for the patients of Stepping Stone Hospice. They presented their beautiful creations to Stepping Stone CEO, Tersia Burger, over tea and scones at the lovely ‘The Steaming Mug’ coffee shop at Alberton Crossing on Tuesday, 9 May. 

Staying true to their word, in the spirit of ‘re-paying’ it forward, Stepping Stone Hospice’s Clinical Services Manager, Sr. Sheryl Newman, and CEO, Tersia Burger, reconvened with representatives of the Avril Elizabeth Home at Lambano Paediatric Hospice in Germiston on Thursday, 4 May, to hand children’s nappies over to Lambano’s Lyn Croote.

Back in 2013, an Alberton mom honoured her dying daughter’s last wish – to open a hospice facility in Alberton that would take care of people and their families who were facing life-limiting illnesses. At the time, neither Tersia Burger nor the rest of her six-woman steering committee, ever thought that in the four years that would follow, Stepping Stone Hospice would grow to the extent where they, this year, signed off on an annual budget of R16-million!

Remember Linda Keiser (42), who was preparing to take on the Tankwa Camino – a grueling 10-day, 256km endurance hike through one of the most parched regions in SA, namely the Tankwa Karoo? Well, she did it!

At Stepping Stone Hospice, there’s a ‘Wish List’ of items the hospice needs – both big and small – that gets pinned to the In-Patient Unit noticeboard and is also made available on the Stepping Stone website for people to see. The hospice is very fortunate to be surrounded by a community of givers and this was demonstrated again on 20 April, when Corné Nell gifted Stepping Stone with a much-needed paper shredder, along with two beautiful tea sets.