Sister companies Marsh and Guy Carpenter & Company, an insurance and reinsurance broker respectively, have donated $9,750 to Friends of Hospice, the supporting charity for Agape House. The donation is being used to revamp the organisation’s community awareness programme including a new interactive website, promotional videos and other marketing materials.

“As Bermuda’s first and only in-patient hospice, Agape House has touched many lives in Bermuda through the work they do,” said David Ezekiel, Bermuda chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies and chairman of Marsh’s Bermuda Charity Committee. “We are delighted to support Friends of Hospice with this donation to help build awareness of the important role the charity plays within the Bermuda community.”

Most of the donation was allocated towards the development of a new interactive website (www.friendsofhospice.bm) that provides up-to-date information on news and events as well as an online donation tool. The website also contains a community area that is integrated with Facebook and Twitter for people to share their own stories and connect with others who have been affected by Agape House or Friends of Hospice services. In addition, a content management system was chosen so that website updates can be made more efficiently in-house by Friends of Hospice staff, thus keeping the site current.

“We are grateful to Marsh and Guy Carpenter for their generosity as we’ve been able to accomplish so much with their donation,” said Dr Ian Fulton, chairman, Friends of Hospice. “Our community awareness programme is critical to the organisation’s ability to thrive and the new functionality of the website makes it easier for donors to support us.”

In addition to the new website, the donation is also covering the cost of promotional videos to be used at various events as well as a brochure, e-newsletter and social media advertising campaigns.

Friends of Hospice, a Bermuda National Standards Committee-registered charity, supports programmes that enhance the quality of life for all hospice patients and their families, such as a full-time, in-house chef, day hospice, bereavement counselling, art and complementary therapy and volunteer companions.

As well as expert medical and nursing care, a variety of activities and therapies are offered at Agape House, which are flexible and sensitive to individual needs such as short-term care, end-of-life care, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.