Kc DSPT

The KCDSPT annual pilgrimage to

Lourdes28 August - 6 September 2014

Information for VIP Applicants(people who are sick, have disabilities orwho are infirm)

Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims TrustA registered charity no. 1019007www.kcdspt.btck.co.uk

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Who is eligible to be selected? 2

How are people chosen? 4

Will it be safe for me to travel? 5

How much does it cost? 6

How do we get to Lourdes? 7

Where do we stay in Lourdes? 8

What do we do in Lourdes? 9

What is the Kettering & Corby Districts SickPilgrims Trust?

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How can I help the Trust? 11

Where can I find more information? 12

Application Form Middlepages

Who is eligible to be selected?

The Trust was established so that people who were una-ble to fly to Lourdes, either with the Diocese or with anational group like the Society of Our Lady of Lourdes,could still go on pilgrimage.

Our selection criteria for potential pilgrims are· Terminal illness or progressive disease· Those confined to bed· Wheelchair user· Frail older person· Desire to travel to Lourdes· Degree of assistance and care required within our

medical team’s training and expertise· Their carer’s need for respite· Ability to fit into a group· Inability to travel another way· Not been on jumbulance before· Not suffering from claustrophobia

The make up of the selected group is managed toensure that the medical staff and helpers can provide allpilgrims with a safe and enjoyable pilgrimage. Thismeans that while those who are most dependent willhave priority, some with lesser needs will also beselected. We usually take 10 people who needassistance out of a total group of 24. Others in thegroup will be a Chaplain and a doctor (if available),there will always be at least one (and usually 2 or 3) reg-istered nurses, a companion helper for each VIP if they

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want to bring someone with them, and other volunteerhelpers.Although Lourdes is especially associated with the Cath-olic Church, and we attend Catholic services while weare on pilgrimage, you don’t need to be a Catholic tocome with us. All we are interested in is if you want totravel to Lourdes and if we have the skills and experi-ence to make sure that you have a safe and enjoyablepilgrimage.

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How are pilgrims selected?

Posters advertising the pilgrimage are issued each year,and notices placed on our website and in Churchnewsletters. This year the closing date for us to receiveapplications is 28th February 2014.

Everyone who wants to come to Lourdes is asked tocomplete an application form (on middle pages). Whenwe receive these forms, our Pilgrimage Manager, Val,will contact the applicant and arrange to visit them intheir home.

The visits will be undertaken by Val or our Head Nurse,Ann, accompanied by another of our trustees. The appli-cants can have whoever they want with them during thisvisit. The visit is so that we can assess the level of as-sistance that the applicant will need to ensure both thatthe pilgrimage is right for the applicant and the applicantfor the pilgrimage.

When all the applications have been received and thevisits made, Val and Ann will decide who will be offereda place on this year’s pilgrimage. They may consult withour Group Leader, Shane, to make sure that we haveenough helpers with the ability to cope with the needs ofthe pilgrims. All selected pilgrims then have to fill in aform from ACROSS, another charity, which runs thejumbulance and looks after us while we are in Lourdes.Their form includes a questionnaire for pilgrims’ GPs tocomplete, and which goes to their medical advisers. Wewouldn’t be able to take anyone with us unlessACROSS was also satisfied that they would be safe onthe jumbulance. 4

Will it be safe for me to travel?

This is the most important question that our nurses andthe ACROSS medical advisers ask themselves whenconsidering applications, and it is one of the questionsthat your GP will be asked in the questionnaire that theywill fill in as part of the ACROSS form.

Our next pilgrimage will be our 24th so we have lots ofexperience of travelling with people with a wide range ofmedical conditions. We would not accept yourapplication unless we were fully confident that youwould be safe with us.

Please take the chance to ask whoever comes to visityou about anything at all that you are worried about.

Once we’re on the jumbulance right through the pilgrim-age until we’re home again we will be looking out foryou. Just ask at any time, day or night, for any help thatyou need that we haven’t anticipated, and don’t worry -whatever it is we have probably given the same help toother people many times.

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How much does it cost?

Thanks to ACROSS, who subsidise every pilgrim thattravels on the jumbulance the pilgrimage costs us £770for each pilgrim.

This covers the journey to and from Lourdes on the jum-bulance, 3* hotel accommodation, all meals andspecialist insurance cover.

If you can pay the full cost that we are charged that isgreat because it means that we can use our funds tohelp those in genuine need, but do not worry if you can-not afford it. We fund raise all year so that we too cansubsidise pilgrims.

If possible we like all pilgrims to pay at least £400.Whether you are paying the full cost or some otheramount you can pay in instalments if this would beeasier for you. Maybe you could raise some moneyyourself, by having coffee mornings or in some otherway? Please speak to us when we visit if you areworried about the cost. We don’t turn people away ifthey really can’t afford very much.

You will also need to bring some money with you so thatyou can buy drinks, ice creams and souvenirs etc. Wehave a group photo taken that you also might like to buyand you will probably want to come with us when we goon excursions and which cost a little extra. We advisepilgrims to bring at least £150 in euros to cover theseextras.

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How do we get to Lourdes?

We travel to Lourdes on the ACROSS jumbulance. Thisis a very special coach that cost £400,000 that is alsoan ambulance.

It has a lift so that people can get on and off without hav-ing to climb stairs if this is difficult. It has seven bedsand reclining seats. It has a disabled toilet. It has a kitch-en so that we can have hot meals on our journey, and ithas medical equipment for use by the nurses.

We leave from the Corby Irish Centre on Patrick Road.We usually meet there at 12:45 pm on Thursday andleave at around 2 pm. With only brief stops to changedrivers and for fuel we travel straight to Lourdes throughthe Channel Tunnel. Lourdes is down in the south westof France near the Spanish border, so it is a long jour-ney. Travelling through the night we arrive at our hotelin Lourdes in time for lunch on Friday.

For the return journey we leave after lunch on the nextFriday and arrive back at the Irish Centre by mid-morn-ing on the Saturday.

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Kc DSPT

Kettering & Corby Districts Sick Pilgrims TrustA registered charity no. 1019007

PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES

28 August - 6 September 2014

VIP APPLICATION FORM

Please read our Information for VIP Applicants bookletfor details of who qualifies as a VIP pilgrim, and how theselection process works. Please contact us if you needany help in completing the form.

FULLNAME:

Name you like tobe known by (forname badge)

Dateofbirth

Address

Post code

Phone number Email

Description of your condition

Continued

If there is someone that you would like to accompany youas a helper, please write their name here

COST The pilgrimage costs us £770 for each pil-grim. This covers travel on the jumbulance, hotelaccommodation, all meals and insurance. If youcan pay this amount it helps us to target our fundsto those in genuine need. Don’t worry if this is toomuch for you. We ask successful applicants to con-tribute at least £400 if possible, but we don’t turnpeople away if they really can’t afford to contributethis much.

Could you pay the full cost of £770? Yes / No

Or pay some of the cost? Amount ..................

Would you like to pay by monthlyinstalments?

Yes / No

Nearly done. Now please sign the form overleafand send it back to us, then we’ll be in touch.

You must have a European Health Insurance Cardbefore travel. These are free and can be obtainedby calling 0845 6062030 or on-line atwww.ehic.org.uk.For your safety, CRB checks are made on all help-ers who will be travelling with us.

DECLARATION

� I consent to the information given in this form be-ing processed and stored for the purpose of se-lecting pilgrims to visit Lourdes. Our DataProtection Policy is available on request.

� I confirm that the information that I have providedon this form is correct and true to my knowledge.

Applicant’s signature ..................................

Date ..................................

Please return this form as soon as possible and by28th February 2014 at the very latest, to

Val MillerPilgrimage Manager23 Sulgrave DriveCORBYNN17 2PE Telephone: 07896 196618

Where do we stay in Lourdes?

We stay in the Hotel Mediterranee, on the Avenue duParadis in Lourdes. It is a normal 3* hotel with someadapted rooms for people with disabilities. It can pro-vide hospital style beds, en suite wet rooms for thoseunable to bathe and hoists. Meals are taken in the din-ing room. Breakfast is anytime between 7 am and 9 am(continental style but with yoghurts, cereals and someother treats to go with a bread stick and croissant.)There is a 3 course lunch at 12 pm and a 4 course din-ner at 7 pm. Vegetarian options and other dietary re-quirements can be met if notified in advance. Please letus know if you suffer from any food allergies andwe will make sure that the hotel staff are informed.

All our rooms are twin bedded and on the same floor ofthe hotel, which has two lifts. If you are not travellingwith anyone, we will allocate a helper to share yourroom. All our helpers are vetted, but if you are uncom-fortable about sharing with the helper that we allocateplease let us know and we will change people round.

The hotel also has a bar with an outside terrace, and asmall chapel. It is only a short way from the sanctuariesof Our Lady and we have a supply of wheelchairs forour VIP pilgrims to use that are stored at the hotel, andplenty of pushers.

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What do we do in Lourdes?

We do all the things that most pilgrims to Lourdes do.We visit the Grotto where Our Lady appeared to St Ber-nadette in 1858. We visit the baths. We take part in theTorchlight procession and the Blessed Sacrament pro-cession. We celebrate Mass each day. We give pilgrimsthe opportunity to go to Confession. We try to arrangethe anointing of the sick. We pray the rosary, the nove-na to Our Lady of Lourdes, the Stations of the Crossand the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. We visit the old townto see the sites associated with St Bernadette. All theseactivities are optional.

But as well as the spiritual side of the pilgrimage, thereis a very important social side. We go on trips out toplaces of interest in the area and we go up into themountains to take in the tremendous views offered bythe Pyrenees. We have picnic lunches on these visits.We will visit cafes and bars in Lourdes and when we areout and about to just chat and relax.

The weather in Lourdes at this time of year can be veryhot, and sometimes very wet. The evenings can some-times be quite cool. Pilgrims need to be prepared for allthese. Please make sure that you bring sun cream anda sun hat, waterproofs and woollies.

We hope that when you come home you will feel re-freshed both physically and spiritually.

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What is the Kettering & Corby Districts Sick PilgrimsTrust?

We are a small registered charity. We were formed in1992 because of one lady who desperately wanted tovisit Lourdes but was unable to fly and had no othermeans of getting there. We raised enough funds tomake our first pilgrimage in 1993 and we have beenback to Lourdes every year since. We also made twopilgrimages to the Holy Land, for the millennium and in2011 as well as our annual trip to Lourdes.

We are run by a committee of volunteer trustees. OurPatron is Bishop Peter Doyle and our President is Can-on John Koenig. We are not an “official” Catholic charity,but we do keep in contact with our Diocese, especiallyon safeguarding matters and we have good relationswith our home parishes.

The trustees main job each year is to make sure weraise enough funds for the pilgrimage, which we havealways succeeded in doing, thank God. We have anannual Grand Draw, sell our own calendars and havemany fundraising events like concerts and dances inboth Kettering and Corby through the year. We issue anewsletter after each pilgrimage and at other times. Tofind out more about us, and to see what events we havecoming up, please visit our websitewww.kcdspt.btck.co.uk.

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How can I help the Trust?

There are many ways in which you could help.

You could join the Trust (it only costs £5 a year) andthen you will have a say in what we do and how we do it.

You could stand for election as a Trustee at our AnnualGeneral Meeting and then help to run the charity.

You could arrange a fund raising event in our aid, or getsponsorship for us from participating in an event.

You could remember us in your will.

You could continue to buy our Grand Draw tickets, andtickets for our concerts and dances, and our calendars.

Without supporters like you, we wouldn’t be able to con-tinue to bring such joy and solace to the people we help.

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Where can I find more information?

About our pilgrimagesPlease visit our website at www.kcdspt.btck.co.ukYou can write to us at 12 Holmes Avenue, Raunds NN96SZ or telephone our Pilgrimage Manager, Val, on07896 196618.

About LourdesFrom www.lourdes-france.org

About ACROSSFrom www.across-uk.org

About other pilgrimages to LourdesFrom www.catholicassociation.co.uk for the Diocesanpilgrimage or from the Director of the Diocesan Pilgrim-age, Fr Damien Walne, at 1 Elwes Way, Great Billing,Northampton, NN3 9EA

From www.soll-lourdes.com for the Society of Our Ladyof Lourdes.

From www.ampleforthlourdes.co.uk for the Ampleforthpilgrimage

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