Calvary Biography Service Turns 10 Thanks to HPS

Since 2008, South Australian charity The Mary Potter Foundation has been working with terminally ill patients to document their life stories through the Calvary Biography Service.

HPS has been the sole sponsor of this program since its inception, which sees patients work with trained volunteers to record their unique life stories and produce a professionally bound biography that they can leave to their family and friends.

“One of the main aims of the biography service is to give positive affirmation of a life lived by a patient, a sense of who they are and to achieve a healing, peaceful state of being,” said Cathy Murphy, Executive Director of The Mary Potter Foundation.

“It is what happens to a patient through the telling of the story that makes creating a biography such a valued process.”

The Calvary Biography Service operates out of Calvary Hospital in North Adelaide, South Australia where The Mary Potter Foundation–supported Calvary Cancer Services and Mary Potter Hospice are located. The program is led by dedicated Volunteer Managers who help train other volunteers through an annual eight-week program.

HPS makes an annual donation to the program to fund the purchase of equipment, booklet supplies and training for new and existing volunteers.

“As an Australian healthcare leader, HPS recognises the importance of supporting community initiatives such as the Calvary Biography Service”, said Jeremy Stones, CEO of HPS.

“The Service gives palliative patients the priceless gift of storytelling, ensuring that their journey is remembered and celebrated by those close to them. It’s a wonderful service to be supporting and we should all be proud of the work these volunteers do every year.”