Sue Ryder is a charity (originally called the Sue Ryder Foundation and more recently Sue Ryder Care) which was founded in 1953 by Sue Ryder, with the creation of a nursing home in Suffolk, UK.
With over 50 years experience providing health and social care, Sue Ryder supports people with complex needs and life-threatening illnesses throughout their pathway of needs across the UK. The charity supports people living with conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis, dementia and stroke at 6 specialist palliative care centres, 7 care centres for people with complex conditions, 15 homecare services and a growing portfolio of tailored community-based services.
In line with many people’s preference to be cared for at home, Sue Ryder is increasingly focussing on developing more community-based services that support people to remain independent and live well in their own homes for as long as possible.
Sue Ryder's name is also associated with services in 12 countries across the globe. Since 1953, the charity has played a leading role in influencing national and international policy debates and stimulating the evolution of care services in developing countries. The charity's overseas partners, in places including Albania and Malawi, play an important role in providing palliative care, residential care for disabled people and older people, and community-based nursing for people with chronic conditions.
Sue Ryder needs to raise approximately £13million (pounds sterling) each year to supplement its statutory income to continue providing 4 million hours of care a year, which is raised from fundraising and through Sue Ryder Shops, of which there are around 350 in the UK.
Sue Ryder also relies on volunteering support and currently has 9000 volunteers across the UK supporting its work. The charity has the largest range of volunteering roles listed on its website in the third sector - over 400 - and also offers bespoke opportunities, matching individual skills and interests to roles. Sue Ryder launched its Prisoner Volunteer Programme in January 2007, which has placed approximately 400 prisoners in 60 shops nationwide, all of whom have provided valued support in helping its charity shops raise vital funds.
In 2008-9 Sue Ryder had an annual expenditure of £75.516 million, placing it in the top 70 of UK charities ranked by expenditure.[1]
The charity is headquartered at Southampton Row in London and is a Registered Charity in England & Wales.[2] It dropped the word "Care" from its operating name in April 2011 after a public consultation suggested that it sounded unclear, corporate and distant.[3]