At ellenor, they are dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals facing life-limiting illnesses, offering support from the moment of diagnosis onwards and beyond. They understand the profound impact such conditions can have on patients, their loved ones, and friends, and they are there to care and support them throughout their journey.
Their specialised services extend to both adults and children living in North Kent and Bexley.
For adults, they offer a range of essential services including an Inpatient Ward, Hospice Care @ Home, Care Home Support Team and Wellbeing Services.
For children in Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley, and Bexley, they provide tailored clinical nursing support, delivering care to preferred locations, often in the home. This approach ensures children receive personalised care in familiar surroundings. which can be crucial to parents caring for other children.
ellenor’s Wellbeing services are one of the most recognised and valued offerings. They provide comprehensive Respite and Wellbeing services, which include Play Therapy, Music Therapy, Counselling, Bereavement Support, and more. These services are designed to support the emotional and psychological well-being of both patients and their families, offering a holistic approach to care that addresses the needs of the whole person. By integrating therapies such as Play and Music Therapy alongside Counselling and Bereavement Support, ellenor aims to enhance the quality of life for all patients and their loved ones, helping them find moments of joy and comfort during difficult times.
ellenor serves a core population of 270,000 people in North Kent and Bexley, including over 45,000 adults aged 65 and above. Their Children’s services extend to Bexley covering a population of around 250,000.
https://ellenor.org/
It was back in April of 2013 that we initially helped the ellenor charity with a small installation in their Dartford site. We had been aware of the larger Gravesend facility but at the time, and until recently, there wasn’t a room available for us to consider for one of our donated cinema room installations.
Having kept in touch over the years, it was in March 2021 that we started talking again and were told of a comprehensive build and refurbishment project to enlarge the Gravesend facility and hence allow for a more dedicated cinema style AV room. This was due for completion in 2024 but it was good to discuss our potential involvement early for all parties concerned.
Our first planning meeting for this installation was in January of 2022. This was via Zoom and another followed in November. With build times and project planning it wasn’t until October 2023 that I visited the site and was shown exactly what was being planned. A comprehensive refurbishment of certain areas and a new build enlarging the ellenor facility.
With such increased space it allowed for a dedicated AV / media room incorporating a cinema facility that could allow multifunctional AV use for other activities such as gaming and karaoke, as well as training and fundraising.
I visited again on January 9th, 2024, but this time with the brains behind the installation, the installer!
Iain Martin of iCubed Home Cinema had been keen to get involved with a Together For Cinema installation for several months. We had got to know each other well and I was keen to get him involved. His reputation, his location and his willingness to help made it easy for me to ask if he’d like to project manage and install at ellenor. Iain was delighted to take this on and was keen to visit, as we did on January 9th.
As any installer will understand It’s difficult to envisage the end result from architects plans, however initially this was what we were working with. The good news for us was that we had pretty much free rein to design and install what we felt would work best. One challenge however was that we needed to install a large TV screen as opposed to a projector and screen. A challenge to be overcome as large TV screens are difficult to secure…
Very quickly Iain had designed a room that worked around the challenges and it looked amazing! Approval was immediate and the excitement started to simmer amongst the team at ellenor. There were still several months to go before we could install but with a design to look at and products to discuss the room became very real.
With such a room, and a quality installer it was always going to need top end equipment and hence would lead to more requests to an already very generous and hugely supportive industry. We try to spread the load amongst different manufacturers and brands but the kit list was always going to be a big ask…
With Iain being the installer that he is, I knew the end result would be excellent…, I also knew that we would be looking at quite a kit list!
As often as I can I try to use pre-donated items from our warehouse area at AWE in Epsom, or other items that we have been offered that I know are available to us. This negates the need to approach too many manufacturers for new items. Fortunately Artcoustic had recently offered us some speakers and Iain was able to use some of these in the installation. We were also able to utilise a 98” NEC screen generously donated by Vissavi. Two key items were now secured, but there was still several items to secure and I’m delighted to say that the industry stepped up again to make sure we had all that we needed.
So many companies help make these rooms happen but in every company there is an individual that makes the donation happen and I’m grateful to them all for being part of the ‘TFC Team’ that makes the magic happen for so many children and young adults, as well as their families and associated care team. The likes of Roddy Abbott from Cinema Build Systems, Paul Bartlett from Masimo Consumer, Horacio Morales from Nice N.A., Ollie French from Future Automation, Colin Urie from Gallo Acoustics, Chris Pinder from HDA, Peter Broome and Paul Wafer from Rako, Adam Dover from Sony, David Constantine from Starscape and Shane Caswell from Webro, all stepped up to make this very special room happen.
The end result is Together For Cinema’s 50th donated cinema room installation and we are all grateful to every one of our very generous product donors. I believe they all have an open invitation to visit ellenor children’s hospice whenever they are in the area!
Monday 21st October, 2024.
Thursday 24th October, 2024.
On Tuesday 2nd December, 2024 we all gathered at ellenor for the grand opening of this new, and very fine, cinema room. We were delighted that the very lovely Charlotte Hawkins could join us and we so grateful her for adding giving up her time to share in a very special day for us all.
Report to follow…
“It’s truly been an honour to undertake this installation for Ellenor and to be part of Together for Cinema, plus being the 50th room, it’s particularly special.
Having provided cinema rooms to care homes for elderly residents, we know first-hand how these spaces can bring something positive. When asked by Ian Morrish to provide our services for the Eleanor Hospice, it was an immediate yes with the added motivation that comes from Eleanor’s wonderful work with the care for children. I can’t do what the amazing staff and volunteers do at Eleanor, but I can do this and aim to give kids an opportunity to smile.
So, we wanted to create something that would give that smile. Designing and creating a cinematic experience from a media room that we’ve been told will bring those smiles to so many. It’s all about the BIG TV, BIG SOUND and most definitely the STARS.
It’s heart-warming to know so many within the AV industry simply said ‘How can we help?’ …and ‘What do you need?’ without question, when being approached for donations of equipment and materials. A huge thanks to Alex from Farmer Electrical who gave up his time to help with the installation and from the very bottom of my heart THANK YOU to you all for helping create this wonderful room.”
Iain Martin, Director, iCubed Home Cinema
”At ellenor, our mission is to enhance the lives of patients and their families facing life-limiting illnesses, providing not only exceptional care but also creating moments of comfort, joy, and connection along their journey. Our new multimedia room, part of the new Wellbeing Centre, is a wonderful addition to that mission.
Thanks to the incredible generosity and expertise of Together for Cinema CIC and iCubed Home, this space has come to life with twinkling lights, a large screen, and superb sound, providing an immersive cinema experience and so much more. It’s a warm, welcoming environment where families can create precious memories and staff can relax. This space will also be used to host a range of creative activities, enriching the lives of all who visit”
Sue Piper, Director of Income Generation, Ellenor Children’s Hospice
THANK YOU…, you have helped make a real difference at ellenor Children’s Hospice, and in turn, will make a lasting difference to so many people’s lives.
Another wonderful cinema room installation brings with it a value that most, if not all, good causes, simply could not afford to fund themselves. With an industry united to make a difference Together For Cinema has been able to deliver a cinema room for ellenor with a value in the region of £35,000 had it been a normal ‘paid for’ installation by iCubed Home Cinema.
The generosity of our industry never ceases to amaze me and I’m so pleased that we’ve been able to gather our resources and donate this special room that will be used and enjoyed by so many for years to come.
For me personally, this is a very important, and very emotional, installation, it’s Together for Cinema’s 50th donated cinema room. This now takes the value of our donations to children’s hospices and other deserving good causes to over £1.3million.
It’s been 15 years since the seeds of Together For Cinema were sewn, 4 years of me being full time and only 2 years of Together For Cinema being a Companies House registered CIC (Community Interest Company). The difference we have been able to make is plain for all to see and we, as an industry united, should all be very proud.
For this installation I am thankful to all involved in making it happen, particularly Iain Martin, who gave his all to help make this room as special as it is. Of course all the companies donating their skills and/products deserve our thanks but over the years there have been hundreds of companies and individuals that have played their part in our journey to where we are now. I think we are all grateful to each and every one of us who have played a part in this wonderful achievement. I hope the ‘feel good’ factor of being involved, and making a difference to so many lives, is worth more than any payment...
However, no time to rest up and pat ourselves on the back, there’s more to be done…, so…, onwards and upwards to the next installation, and the next 50!
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For further details please contact Ian Morrish at:-
Work: 01372 454366 ♦ Mobile: 07768 398007 ♦ Email: ian@togetherforcinema.co.uk
www.togetherforcinema.co.uk
Report created by Ian Morrish. All quotes to be from Ian Morrish, unless otherwise stated.
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