2 Aug 2024 Community

Miranda Leeming’s Support Life Champion Story and how she has made a difference to people’s lives

Miranda Leeming is one of our great Support Life Champions. She says she is immensely proud to be connected to our movement and enjoys trying to make a difference to the charity and people's lives where she can.

Miranda completed our Support Life Champions course in 2023. Our Support Life Champions help to raise awareness about The Kirkwood within their workplaces, communities and friendship groups. They are advocates for our cause, spreading the word about our charity and helping people to understand the wide range of services we offer at any stage of a life limiting illness. 

Being a Support Life Champion is a voluntary role, and it doesn’t have to be time consuming. Our Champions support us by raising the profile of The Kirkwood wherever they see an opportunity, increasing awareness, connecting people in need to our services and putting us forward for fundraising opportunities whether at work or in their personal lives. Support Life Champions can also choose to get involved with volunteering or campaigning for The Kirkwood. 

Miranda who works for Eastwood Insurance Brokers who are part of our Business Movement have supported us over a period of time. When we set up the Support Life Champions programme Miranda knew straight away it was something she wanted to get involved with. 

She said: “I work for Eastwood Insurance brokers and we're part of the business movement. Edith our receptionist is part of the Batley and Birstall Support Group, so we've done a few fundraising things for The Kirkwood as a business through supporting her with her activities. We then joined the business movement after speaking with Bev Shaw The Kirkwood's Business Development Manager. After that, The Kirkwood asked if I wanted to become a Support Life Champion.

“Before getting involved with The Kirkwood I didn’t know much about the charity. I thought the building in Dalton where the In-Patient Unit is would be a dark, sad place. However that isn't the case at all. I didn't realise how lovely a place it is. You come here and you leave just completely uplifted.

“I didn't realise the support that The Kirkwood offers to such a broad range of people. I think, like many people, I just thought people came here for end of life care. I also didn't realise the lack of funding The Kirkwood gets.”

“I loved the Support Life Champions training. I thought it was explained really well. The training gave me more knowledge about the services that The Kirkwood offer and how to spread the word about the charity and what I can do as a champion. 

“I don't have to know everything, but what I have to know is that people can ring you and you'll know which way to point them in order to get some initial help. So there was a lot more to the training than I first thought, however I really enjoyed it.

“I lead on the charitable stuff we do at Eastwood Insurance and organise things and so when the opportunity came along to become a champion I just felt it was a really good opportunity to get involved with something where I know I can help make a difference.” 

Miranda has already put her training into practice by helping one of her colleagues at work access services that are now benefiting her and her family. 

On that Miranda said: “Once I'd been on the training day and it was all fresh in my mind, I sent an email to everybody at work. I told people that they could make contact with me if they wanted, they could talk to me or they could email me and it would all be in confidence. I shared as much information as I could and tried to give people a sense of why I was doing what I was doing. 

“Within minutes of me sending the email, people replied back just wanting to share their stories, or to say their friend or relative was cared for by The Kirkwood and that the charity meant a lot to them. 

“I was really surprised straight away at how many people wanted just to interact and just say that they'd got a connection with The Kirkwood. You don’t realise how many people’s lives The Kirkwood actually touches.

“After sending the email I felt really proud that I could be that important connection for people. I felt like I was bridging the gap for them and giving them the confidence to seek the help and advice they needed if it was needed. 

“There was one lady at work that I helped. Her family is still going through the situation that they're in. Whilst the services that they needed were in Calderdale and were from another hospice, my friend at work said she wanted to talk to me confidentially about it. 

“When talking to her she was visibly upset, and I tried to remember all the things I had learned in the training sessions. I listened to her but it was really difficult for me too to not just burst into tears because she was my friend.

“However I felt really proud that she felt that she could tell me all the things that she wanted to. She said all the private things about her family and the things that they were all going through. I felt really honoured that she felt that she could trust me with that. The family were just a bit lost, and all these things were happening, and they didn't really know what to do.

“So I gave her The Kirkwood number and she managed to speak with someone who I was hoping could point her in the right direction. 

Miranda has become a big part of our movement and her dedication to becoming a Support Life Champion has inspired family and friends to take up volunteering roles at their local hospices. 

Miranda commented: “Since I became a Support Life Champion I have talked to my mum about it. My mum is retired and she'd been volunteering at the church but stopped for different reasons. She said she wanted to volunteer somewhere else so me doing my The Kirkwood stuff gave her the thought of volunteering for her local hospice which she now does and loves it. So she now volunteers at St Barnabas in Lincoln.

“Then she talked to her best friend who still lives up here in Halifax about her new role. That made her best friend want to volunteer for the hospice in Halifax. 

“So overall I'm really pleased to be involved with The Kirkwood and I'll continue to be the best Support Life Champion I can be. 

“I’d also encourage anyone to become a Support Life Champion because you never know how much of a difference you can make to someone’s life by just giving them the right information to find out more or the number to contact to speak to someone when they most need it.”