East Lancashire Hospice says farewell to Susan Balmbra

Susan Balmbra has spent 12 years as a Retail Manager at East Lancashire Hospice's Great Harwood branch. She will be greatly missed by the community as she retires. 

Her experience in retail laid the perfect foundation for her role at the hospice charity shop. As a young entrepreneur, she ran a grocery business at age 21, which was a great success for 15 years. Her career progressed further working with the local community at the Great Harwood Co-op, where she earned a promotion to Manager. After taking a short break to care for her parents, she landed the position of Retail Manager at the Great Harwood charity shop, but not without a stroke of luck… 

Her husband stumbled across the job listing, but panic set in when they realised applications had closed. Determined not to let the opportunity slip away, Susan rang the shop and to her relief, they agreed to let her bring her CV in. Reflecting on the moment, she shared, “I felt really honoured to get the position out of all the applicants.” 

Susan’s personal connection to East Lancashire Hospice helped fuel her passion, “I always feel emotional when I go to the Hospice, as I have a few friends who have died there.” Initially, she thought, like many people, the Hospice was ‘a place you go to die’, but after working for East Lancashire Hospice, her perceptions changed and she understood the hospice to be so much more; supporting families and the wider community. 

Looking back, celebrating each year with a Christmas party was a highlight for Susan. Organised by one of her volunteer’s Doreen, the parties provided a time for the team to come together. Her greatest achievement, however, was receiving a letter from the Retail Manager congratulating her and the volunteers for achieving an amazing £7,000 above target. 

After announcing her retirement, Susan has been inundated with gifts, she’s received cakes and biscuits from the local community of Great Harwood, a voucher and flower arrangement from the hospice team, and a lovely buffet and retirement party organised by the volunteers. Susan expressed, “I would like to thank everyone for their generosity.”  

Susan has some exciting retirement plans, which involve lots of travelling, including visiting her family in Kenya. 

Everyone at East Lancashire Hospice would like to wish Susan the best of luck for her retirement and thank her for her 12 years of service.  

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