BAFTA winner Siobhán McSweeney is among a raft of famous faces who have lent their support to a campaign to raise money for hospice nurses.
The Cork native, who hit the headlines earlier this week after winning the Best Female Performance in a Comedy Bafta for her role in Derry Girls, has turned her talents to the world of art for the charity fundraiser.
McSweeney is one of a number of celebs who has painted a postcard for the My Lovely Postcards project.
Siobhán McSweeney shows of her postcard for the fundraising exhibitionTheir work will now be exhibited before being auctioned in aid of Beth’s Bursary Fund, which supports nurses to receive further specialist training and education in palliative care.
The fund has been set up by Sobell House Hospice in Oxford in conjunction with the family of Beth Foreman, who died of bowel cancer in 2016, aged 32.
Beth spent time at Sopwell House prior to her death and her family set up the fund after discovering how many nurses working in end-of-life care and hospices were paying for their own training.
Beth Foreman died in 2016, aged 32Guy Foreman, Beth’s brother, explained: “One of the biggest factors that helped Beth maintain her spirit was the nursing staff around her.
“The NHS simply isn’t able to fund enough specific palliative training for nurses and this also deters nurses from entering this crucial area of healthcare.
“It is already a very emotionally-charged and difficult job to do, and it needs to be better supported.”
Mel Giedroyc with her postcard for the exhibitionThe money raised from the My Lovely Postcards will help pay for additional skills training for nurses and palliative care staff at Sobell House Hospice.
Siobhán McSweeney’s art submission for the exhibition, along with contributions from Dame Judi Dench, Suzie Fletcher, Mel Giedroyc and Mark Gatiss, are available for fans to bid on here, alongside 400 other submissions.
The online auction closes at 6pm on May 28.
