Announcing the Erudus chosen charity for 2026: St Cuthbert’s Hospice

The Hospice does truly amazing work in a myriad of ways for those affected by life-limiting illnesses and their loved ones, so we’d like to share a bit more about the charity and how we’ll be supporting them over the course of the year...

Who are St Cutherbert’s Hospice?

St Cuthbert’s Hospice is an organisation in Durham that supports people with advanced illness, people approaching the end of their lives and people who have been bereaved.

The hospice offers in-patient care, out-patient care, bereavement support, family support and access to a Living Well Centre, at any stage - from diagnosis, to living well with their illness to their last days.

Founded by a group of Durham residents who came together for a common cause, St Cuthbert’s Hospice opened its doors in 1988 after ‘Park House’ (the hospice location) was purchased after years of dedicated fundraising by said residents. The local community and businesses in it remain some of the hospice’s biggest champions.

What St Cuthbert’s Hospice say about what they do

“At the heart of St Cuthbert’s Hospice is the individual who is seen as a unique person deserving of respect and dignity. Our aim is to support each person, and their family and friends, helping them to make informed choices and decisions affecting their lives.”

Find out more about St Cuthbert’s Hospice here.

How will Erudus be supporting St Cuthbert’s Hospice?

We’ll be throwing our collective support behind St Cuthbert’s via both donations and fundraising. Here’s what we have in the calendar so far...

Christmas Tree collection

On Monday 19th January several members of the Erudus team participated in the hospice's annual Christmas Tree Recycling scheme.

This involved collecting used Christmas trees from Durham residents in the DH1, DH2, DH3, DH4, DH5, DH6, DH7 postcodes, and taking them to be recycled on behalf of St Cutherbert’s - an endeavour for which the trusty Erudus van proved very useful!

This year the event was a massive success, and managed to raise £10,998, equating to an average donation of £16.14 a tree.

Durham City Run Festival - 5k and 10k

A celebrated part of the local events calendar, the annual Durham City Run Festival is taking place on 15th July, and participants get to enjoy viewing some of the city’s most iconic historic landmarks, with the 5k and 10k giving options to runners of all levels. Among them this year will be several members of the Erudus team, raising money for St Cuthbert's.

The Big Hike Hadrian’s Wall

The historic Hadrian’s Wall is one of the North East’s most treasured landmarks and The Big Hike, led by Challenge Northumberland, takes participants along 20 kilometres of beautiful scenery that follows in the footsteps of the Roman soldiers who manned the structure, protecting the Empire’s armies from the Scottish.

Erudus’s Jon Shayler will lead a team of those in the business undertaking the gruelling walk, which hits a high peak of 1,000 feet.

88 Club

Erudus are now proud members of the St Cuthbert’s 88 Club, a membership available to local businesses to help support the hospice.

It entails an annual donation that enables St Cuthbert’s to plan for their future and helps them to achieve their mission of making every day count, but also has benefits that include volunteer opportunities and Everything in Place workshops that allow employees of businesses like Erudus to better understand the organisation and what they do.

You can find out more about coming part of the 88 Club here.