Teesside Hospice supports around 3,000 people in the Tees Valley, primarily in Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. The staff help them make the most of every day, ensuring they receive the best possible care by creating experiences and memories that last a lifetime.
Everybody gets treated as an individual, whether it’s physical, mental or emotional support they need. The hospice supports people to stay as independent as possible for as long as possible. They bring people together. From patients, family and friends to our clinical team, counsellors, staff, volunteers and our fundraisers. They make sure that everyone gets to live well until the very end.
The staff really care, and the hospice was founded by local people and will always be there for local people. They understand their lives, the community and culture so are incredibly well placed to offer highly personalised levels of care.
The vision is to be there for everyone that needs them, and to change the way society and healthcare systems care for people with terminal illness and ensure local people get the very best care at end of life, whatever their needs.
www.teessidehospice.org
Teesside Hospice was first brought to my attention by Martin Wakefield of Wakefields Smarter Home Technology. Martin had recently completed his first installation with Together For Cinema at the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle and was keen to consider a second project.
Martin’s mother had been cared for at the hospice and Martin asked me if it was okay for him to talk to Teesside Hospice, and potentially offer them a cinema / media room installation. Bearing in mind the amazing work that any hospice does, be in a children’s or an adult facility, and the cradling of a family at a really tough time, it was a very definite yes…
Martin then discussed with the management and care team and there was a very positive response. The difference that a room like this can make to families at the toughest of times is huge, and can help bring moments of pleasure, comfort and tranquility, as well as helping to make happy memories for a family preparing for the loss of a loved one.
Together For Cinema was ‘in’ and Martin and his team at Wakefields set about drawing up designs and considered what would work best in the room.
With Martin based very close to the hospice he kindly led the project himself and quickly met with the management at Teesside Hospice. Having viewed the hospice ‘with an eye for an install’ it was clear that there was one particular room that would be suitable for the installation.
There were very few installation challenges, though the solution needed to be a large screen TV as opposed to a projector. This takes away some of the ‘cinema magic’, but gives a more practical and workable solution.
With use of this new facility varying from film nights to day-to-day TV viewing, training to fundraising, and probably gaming and karaoke for the families, it needed to be easy to use without the complexities of some of our more comprehensive installations! With this in mind an 85” inch Smart TV screen was proposed with a backing of walnut acoustic panelling. In ceiling speakers, a soundbar and a sub-woofer completed the audio.
With the room as it was, the design almost defined itself, however with years of experience Martin made some specific additions that he knew would lift the end result to a level that gave the room, and the end AV result, the ‘wow factor’.
Specific solutions needed specific products and all items had to be right for the job. With high use expected, they also needed to be ‘hardy’ and give high quality performance. Some of our regular donors kindly stepped up to help and I’m delighted to say a few new ones also helped out and made this wonderful room a reality.
All brands listed below were ‘ready, willing and able’ to donate the items that we needed to make this room happen. With a comprehensive and quality kit list there’s always the concern that we may struggle to make it happen, however, everyone we approached was keen to help. We thank all that donated and also those that kindly helped us with some excellent pricing to help make this room happen.
We are of course hugely grateful to all companies that donate to a Together For Cinema project but for this one, having such a personal meaning to Martin, we are particularly grateful. Thank you to you all. The kit list reads as follows…
Monday 29th September, 2025.
Thursday 2nd October, 2025
2pm on Thursday 6th November…, TBC.
“……….”
Martin Wakefield, Managing Director, Wakefields Smarter Home Technology
”……….”
???, General Manager, Teesside Hospice
THANK YOU…, you have helped make a real difference at Teesside Hospice, and in turn, have made a real difference to so many people’s lives.
We’re all aware that charities have to work very hard to secure the funding for most of their operational costs. With the comprehensive and considered cradling of a family through tough times, there is little monies left over for luxuries such as a cinema room.
For Teesside Hospice in Middlesbrough this new cinema room is a wonderful addition to their facility and, at a normal cost of around £30,000, is something that would not usually be budgeted for and ever considered as a possibility.
This was Together for Cinema’s 56th good cause cinema room installation and helped take the Together for Cinema good cause community delivery to very nearly £1.45m worth of cinema room installations, had they all been paid for.
For Martin Wakefield, to bring the cinema experience to a hospice that he has an emotional attachment to meant a great deal, and he has delivered something very special. Not only does it provide a great AV experience, it also provides a room lovingly designed to delivered a sense of calm and cradling that is so important in the hospice environment.
For years to come this gift to Teesside Hospice will be used and enjoyed and will help make happy memories for so many families going through the most challenging of times.
A huge thank you to Martin and his team, and to Lesley McDine of Fleur Interiors who assisted with the interior design.
Martin, you have made a really positive difference at Teesside Hospice and I know how much this means to you…, thank you…
_____________________________________________________________
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.
©2025 All Rights Reserved - Website by Presto
