Ellenor director Rachel Holweger is leaving at the end of the month after five years with the hospice charity.

Rachel Holweger has been director of income generation at the Northfleet-based charity since 2013, but is now moving on to a new opportunity in the United States of America.

Leading successful fundraising, marketing and retail teams, she was responsible for developing a range of income generation activities and creating new business opportunities required to deliver expanding hospice care.

She led a successful rebrand in 2015 to make the charity and its services more accessible, marking a new chapter for the organisation.

Ellenor’s Chief Executive Claire Cardy says: “We are sad Rachel is leaving but excited for her as it is a fantastic opportunity to go abroad - and sincerely wish her all the best for the future. We are enormously grateful for her commitment and passion for ellenor and its work. Rachel has built strong much needed relationships across the county and has laid a strong foundation for the work to come”.

Among Rachel's innovative projects were the Twilight Walk, which last year was undertaken by 800 walkers, and the glamorous Orange Ball which has been supported by an impressive list of popular celebrities, patrons and attendees.

There has also been a key focus on building sustainable income from growing the lottery and encouraging tax payers to gift aid their donations to the shops.

Rachel said: "It has been a huge privilege to hold this role for the last five years and to see our fundraising and communications transformed but also to work with such a fantastic team of people all committed to working together (staff and volunteers) to make a very real difference to the lives of families facing terminal illness.

"It has always been a priority of mine to ensure we as a team acknowledge that people have different reasons for giving and want to support ellenor in different ways and that we are always grateful for all donations – ensuring people understand the huge impact their giving has”.

The charity provides vital care and support to individuals and their families facing terminal illness.