Wednesday 9 April 2025
On 28 March, a fabulous fundraising event took place to celebrate the life of Florence Nightingale, in aid of the Florence Nightingale Foundation. Organised by Lucy Lewis, Consultant Nurse, Frailty and Older People at Wiltshire Hospital at Home, Lucy is a Florence Nightingale Foundation Alumni Champion and she wanted not only to celebrate the life of Florence but to support FNF. In her blog Lucy talks about this most memorable event and shares some fabulous photos.
(Image: A group photo of all those attending the event on 28 March. Lucy Lewis is pictured on the right hand side of the image)
“Thank you to all who gathered on Friday 28 March to support the incredible work of the Florence Nightingale Foundation. We met at Embley School, former home to Florence, where she experienced her calling to nursing. What is now the headmaster’s office and was once where Florence was educated by her father and this room was open for us to view.
The school generously not only provided complimentary use of the venue but also minibuses and drivers to take us on what several guests referred to as a “Florence pilgrimage”.
First stop was the 905-year-old Romsey Abbey where the beautiful Calling Window by Sophie Hacker was installed to commemorate Florence’s 200th birthday. Thank you to the Abbey catering team lead, Liz Wagner for providing tea and coffee in the Benedictine tradition of hospitality.
Next was a short walk to King John’s House for a private viewing of the Florence artefacts including a recording of her voice. Thank you to the museum team for accommodating us.
We then arrived at St Margaret’s Church, Wellow, in beautiful sunshine to pay our respects at Florence’s final resting place. Thank you to the church warden Roy Perry, for providing an informative talk about the church and the Nightingale family connections to it.
Finally, we arrived back at Embley School to hear motivating addresses from Professor Greta Westwood CBE, Chief Executive Officer of the Florence Nightingale Foundation and Dame Yvonne Moores DBE, former Chief Nursing officer of Wales, Scotland then England, and now FNF Patron. Their continued passion for developing the nursing and midwifery professions and the importance of improving healthcare for all, in the United Kingdom and globally through investing in leadership at all career stages was inspiring.
This was followed by a wonderful afternoon tea provided by the school catering team and sponsored by OSKA pressure care experts.
If you would like to learn more about the Calling window and the process of making it, Sophie Hacker will be giving an online lecture on Monday 12 May, International Day of the Nurse (Florence’s birthday).”
FNF is so grateful for the support from Lucy and all those who attended and supported this event. Thank you for shining a light on Florence, on FNF and for raising £400!
Would you like to support FNF?
If you would like to take on a fundraising challenge or set up a fundraiser to support our work, find out more about getting involved here.
(Images: A set of images from the event)
