Tag Archives: Dragonfly

Spreading the wings of generosity as Edinburgh’s Dragonfly Agency sponsors charity cards for fifth year

Posted: 5 July, 2022

Edinburgh marketing agency helps to raise £11,000 for Scottish palliative care charity PATCH.

Andrew Macdonald www.andrewmacdonaldphoto.co.uk

News release – 4 July 2022 – The generosity of an Edinburgh direct marketing agency– The Dragonfly Agency – has helped raise over £11,000 for Scottish palliative care charity PATCH. The support began in 2016 when Dragonfly offered to print and package Christmas cards for PATCH to sell to fundraise to enable specific projects across hospitals in Scotland. Every year the team at Dragonfly has continued to print both Christmas and note cards which provide a very important addition to the charity with a range of beautiful animal, bird and winter-themed artwork.

Projects that have benefited from the fundraising include supporting nurses who are developing their skills to provide quality palliative and end of life care and the development of literature to help nursing and clinical staff feel more comfortable in their knowledge and understanding of palliative care provision.

Dr Pamela Levack, Medical Director and Founder of PATCH commented:

We have been so delighted and touched by the continued generosity of Vicky, Isla and the whole team at The Dragonfly Agency. Every year they have offered their support without hesitation and the results have been the most beautiful cards that we are able to sell to raise funds. The cards are bespoke for PATCH supporters each year. The funds raised have supported very important work like funding a pull-down bed at Kelso Community Hospital for a relative to stay overnight with a loved one who is nearing the end of life. This was a joint venture with the Friends of Kelso Hospital. We are also supporting a communications course for fifth year medical students in Dundee.


Vicky Grant, CEO and Founder of the Dragonfly agency commented:

PATCH is very close to our hearts because of the superb work they do to help people and their families with end-of-life care. Sadly, it is something so many people close to us have had to go through. Dragonfly really wanted to support PATCH’s great work and help raise even more vital funds.

We are passionate about letters and cards and wanted to give back something that everyone could benefit from. Cards and letters allow people to touch others through kind words and support, so it was a very fitting option for us to be able to produce these for PATCH and for them to raise money along the way.

The latest cards are still available, incorporating a photo of a Borders scene taken by local photographer Andrew Macdonald (image attached). The cards are blank inside so can be used as notelets throughout the year. Cards are sold in packs of 10 for £8.

Stuck for present ideas? PATCH has an answer

Posted: 8 December, 2019

Available to buy: PATCH note cards and Christmas Cards.

This year the PATCH team is keen to give you some additional ideas for Christmas presents and stocking fillers. We have been lucky enough to receive four beautifully hand painted designs from artist Zaza Shelley to create packs of 12 note cards. The cards are printed on beautiful quality paper stock, thanks to our extremely generous supporters at The Dragonfly Agency in Edinburgh. Each pack costs £8 and all proceeds go towards supporting PATCH-funded projects.

If you would like to purchase any cards please email kate@patchscotland.com and we can arrange delivery or postage. We do also have a variety of Christmas cards available. Packs of 10 Christmas cards with a range of bespoke designs by Zaza Shelley can also be purchased for £6 per pack.

If you were thinking about a charity to support this festive season, we would be delighted to be considered.

Thank you for all your support this year and wish you a happy time over the festive season and health and prosperity for 2020.

Ladies who lunch support palliative care charity 

Posted: 5 February, 2019

Fifty ladies from the Borders and further afield met for lunch on Friday 7 December to raise funds to support the work of the charity PATCH (Palliation and the Caring Hospital).

The presentation of the Dragonfly donation. From the left: Christine Salem, Isla Munro (Dragonfly Agency), Dr Pamela Levack, Dr Gordon Paterson, Vicky Grant (Dragonfly Agency), Muriel Scotchmere, Helen Legge.

The event, at the Hoebridge Inn, Gattonside, was a great success and raised £2,330. This sum included a very generous donation of £1,500 from the Dragonfly Agency, Edinburgh who, for the third year in succession have met all the costs of production of the PATCH Christmas card.  

PATCH is supporting a range of projects across Scotland including established partnership working with colleagues in NHS Borders to ensure quality palliative and end of life care. 

Helen Legge, Chairman of the Friends of PATCH in the Borders, said:

We have been very impressed by the generous support that we have received from so many kind people in the Borders who attended the lunch.

Helen Legge, Chairman of the Friends of PATCH in the Borders

We are extremely grateful to the enthusiastic Friends of PATCH who have organised this and other events that help to raise awareness of our work and the essential funding that makes it all possible.

Dr Pamela Levack, PATCH Medical Director

Festive cheer brought to Scottish palliative care charity

Posted: 16 February, 2017

Edinburgh-based Dragonfly Agency donates £5,000 to fund palliative care projects in Scottish/Borders hospitals.

News release – 14 December 2016 – Scottish charity PATCH (Palliation and the Caring Hospital) has been filled with festive cheer following two generous donations totaling £5,000 from an Edinburgh based print consultant, The Dragonfly Agency.

Supporting the charity with its first ever Christmas card, the team at The Dragonfly Agency helped to raise over £1,500 by covering all production costs. The cards were sold right across Edinburgh, Borders and Tayside and almost sold out in two weeks! The design was created by artist Zaza Shelley who creates artwork in water colour and ink primarily.

Not content with that contribution, the Dragonfly team chose to donate a further £3,500 to help support the work of Patch in Scotland. With a great track record of supporting and working with charities across many different areas, the team at Dragonfly have all had direct or close experience with a friend or family member who has benefited from or needed palliative care.

The money raised from the donation and Christmas card sales will go towards supporting projects in Scotland/Borders to improve and enhance the palliative care provision in hospitals.

Dr Gordon Paterson, Director of PATCH commented: “As a board we were so delighted with the incredible generosity from Vicky and the Dragonfly Agency team. Not only with the underwriting of production of our very first and extremely high quality PATCH Christmas Cards, but also for the very, very generous monetary donation to support the work we do.

“Palliative care for patients and their loved ones can make such a difference during very challenging life events. It is not rocket science but does require true empathy and a set of basic skills and behaviours to complement clinical care. In various ways and through supporting a number of projects PATCH endeavours to make such care the norm. We believe that all patients and relatives need and deserve this, whatever the pressure on clinical services. With such donations we can continue to help ensure this happens.”

Victoria Grant, Founder and Director of The Dragonfly Agency said: “We were really so pleased to be able to support PATCH this year, and particularly with ensuring a perfect quality Christmas card was produced! As a team we are very passionate about the charities we donate to and this year it was a unanimous decision in favour of PATCH.

“The sad, but real, situation is that as a team we have all had loved ones, or friends’ loved ones who have needed palliative care, and either benefited hugely or didn’t have the chance to benefit. We believe that this should be something available to all who need it and therefore supporting such a charity makes real sense to us.”

PATCH recently funded a pilot project being carried out by the University of Dundee’s School of Medicine in Ninewells Hospital and NHS Tayside. The three organisations came together to develop and pilot a series of workshops to equip young healthcare professionals with the skills they need to have honest and open conversations with patients and their families about dying– particularly with those people whose needs might be better served by active palliation of their symptoms rather than other healthcare interventions. There are discussions about extending this pilot project to other hospitals across Scotland.