"People think it’s somewhere you go to end your life and that’s it," says Councillor Jenny Wallace, Mayor of Gravesham. "But ellenor is a beautiful story."

For Jenny, ellenor’s work speaks to something deeper about the place she serves. She often describes Gravesham as “rich” - not in the sense of gilded streets or grandiose budgets, but in the richness of its cultural fabric, and the way its people knit themselves together in times of joy, challenge and care.

So it makes sense that, when she became Mayor of Gravesham in May 2025 and was invited to choose charities for her civic year, local hospice charity ellenor was an obvious pick. “ellenor touches everybody’s life – perhaps not always directly, but everyone knows someone who knows someone who has needed them.” Supporting the organisation has become a thread that runs through everything she does in office – from school visits to gala nights – because, for Jenny, service without compassion is only half‑finished.

ellenor supports people of all ages – from babies and children to adults – as they navigate the physical and emotional challenges of life-limiting illnesses. Its approach is holistic care treating not just clinical symptoms but also the social, emotional, and psychological needs of patients and those around them. From counselling to complementary therapies, ellenor’s care extends beyond the individual to embrace their families and loved ones too.

Jenny’s instinct to care comes from a life that has never stood still. Gravesham’s now-Mayor grew up above her uncle’s brush shop on the Old Kent Road, lulled to sleep by the smell of hot pitch on varnished bristles, before the family’s fortunes lifted them to Meopham. Whilst living at Old Kent Road her father cycled to Woolwich Arsenal by day and night school by evening; her mother was a book-keeper and the humour flowed. Jenny followed their example of purposeful graft: first at the BBC’s language services, then to Woman’s Hour, which included reading listeners’ letters on air, before going on to BBC children’s television. Later, she handled key consumer‑affairs press work for WH Smith and became the company’s first woman to take maternity leave.

She married writer Jonathan – whom she’d met at the BBC – and together they raised Eleanor and Alexander, while launching a residential‑lettings business. The Wallaces’ company matched tenants – who were often from lower socio-economic backgrounds and desperate for a roof over their head – with landlords. Jenny even helped many tenants who came to her apply for housing benefits by vouching on their behalf to her network of landlords: proof, she says, that saying “yes” to opportunity always gives back far more than it ever costs.

Jonathan’s unexpected death in 2003 fuelled new resolve. She published his poetry, tended the cherry tree planted in his name, and threw her energy into community activities: until, in 2016, she was coaxed on to the council herself. Today, she represents Gravesham’s Town Ward – a patchwork of charm and industry and area of 6,000 neighbours and centuries‑old stories. “It is the most wonderful community,” she smiles, reeling off landmarks: the river, the Pocahontas statue, and St George’s Church – where the young Powhatan woman was laid to rest.

Ask Jenny why Gravesham works, and she talks not of monuments, but of cohesion – the way neighbours of every origin celebrate one another’s festivals and rally around shared causes such as ellenor. The Mayor marvels at volunteers who have given 40 years of service because a loved one died under the charity’s care. “ellenor looked after my husband, and they looked after me,” one widow told Jenny at ellenor’s summer fair. “That’s why I keep giving, however small the contribution: so ellenor can continue to give back to local families.”

Jenny’s own encounter with the hospice’s staff left her struck by their dedication and compassion. Support for local palliative and end‑of‑life care, she argues, should be a cornerstone of every mayoral portfolio – and points, as an example, to ellenor’s annual Twilight Walk, which fills the streets with thousands of fund‑raisers and a tide of orange T‑shirts that light up the dusk. Yet what matters most to her is demystifying what a hospice actually is. “People think it’s somewhere you go to end your life and that’s it,” she says. “But ellenor is a beautiful story. Through its support for people of all ages living with life-threating and life-limiting illness, ellenor helps not just the patient, but the whole family – partner, children, grandchildren, friends – feel included, loved, and held.”

That story will soon gain a new chapter just up the road in Dartford, where ellenor’s Wild Art Trail will plant sixty vibrant bear sculptures through parks, high streets and the Bluewater shopping complex. Jenny delights in the idea that Gravesham families will cross the borough line next summer to scan QR codes and ‘collect’ each bear – unlocking bite‑sized tales of hospice support as they go. “Art is a wonderful way to start a conversation,” she says. “If a trail of painted bears can make one child ask why ellenor matters, it’s been successful.”

Jenny’s mayoral chain glints under the meeting‑room lights as she leans forward: eyes bright and intent as she discusses ellenor. “ellenor gives so much to the community, and the community gives back. It’s two‑way, always.” Then, she offers an invitation as open as the smile that has carried her from BBC studios to council chambers: “If you’re part of the Gravesham community and have love to spare – be that time, money, a listening ear, or important skills and knowledge – ellenor can turn it into comfort for someone who needs it.”

For Jenny Wallace supporting ellenor is not just a civic duty but a personal commitment to ensuring every local resident receives compassionate care when they need it most.

“ellenor gives so much to the community, and the community gives back. It’s two-way, always,” she says - a reminder that hospice care, like public service, is built on trust, and the belief that no one should face life’s hardest moments alone.”

As Jenny sees it, the more people who understand what ellenor really does, the stronger the whole community becomes.