Joseph Calleja to serve as Ambassador for Hospice Malta

Hospice Malta is delighted to announce that tenor Joseph Calleja will serve as the organ

isation’s Honorary Ambassador on a voluntary basis.

Making the announcement at the organisation’s Annual Fundraising Dinner held at the Westin Dragonara Resort, Hospice Malta chairperson Bernadette Bonnici Kind said the Board was overjoyed at Calleja’s “immediate and enthusiastic” acceptance of the role.

“We are excited to begin this collaboration with Joseph Calleja, who is eager to do what he can to help us to promote our mission. We are extremely grateful for his support and have no doubt that this collaboration will

bear fruit for our organisation and provide Calleja with enormous satisfaction.”

Calleja, one of the world’s most highly acclaimed tenors, was unable to attend the fundraising dinner due to singing engagements abroad but said in a video message: “It is an honour to have been asked to help Hospice Malta, which provides essential support to both patients and their families when they need it most. They don’t tend to shout about the good that they do, but the reality is that Hospice is made up of unsung heroes who perform an invaluable role in our society

and it will be a great privilege for me to do whatever I can to support their mission.”

Set up in 1989, Hospice Malta is made up of a team of professionals including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, physiotherapists complementary therapists, social workers and a spiritual director who assist more than 1,300 patients and their families every year.

Hospice Malta is committed to creating a state-of-the-art complex providing comprehensive palliative care services once a €12.5m project to refurbish a site, known as the Cini Institute in Sta Venera,

which was donated to the organisation by the Archdiocese of Malta, is complete.

The building will be renamed St Michael Hospice and enable Hospice to further extend its current community care services to also include a 16-bed in-patient unit. Funding has been secured from the Government of Malta, the European Union, NDSF and several local banks, corporations and businesses.

Hospice has embarked on several fundraising initiatives. Donations are gratefully acknowledged and can be made via www.hospicemalta.org