“Sylwester was a lovely man, very open and honest and it was a pleasure to work with him,” says Jackie Carpenter, assistant director of Derventio Housing Trust. “He was very grateful for all the support he received from Derventio, and his legacy will live on.”

This is because, just before he died in October 2017, Sylwester, who was Polish, left £4,200 in his will to Derventio, which was put into its Empowerment Fund in order to help other people in their own time of need by paying for things to help them to move on in their lives.

Staff at Derventio Housing Trust first met Sylwester when he was being cared for on a ward at the Royal Derby Hospital in July, 2016. He spoke very little English and had very complex needs, having been admitted for treatment for bowel cancer.

He was ready to be discharged but, with nowhere to go and no ID or access to money – although he had been working in England prior to his cancer, he had lost his ID card, National Insurance card and his bank card – the hospital asked Derventio to help.

Derventio helped him to get his ID card through the Polish consulate and helped him make a claim for his benefits, and found him a house in the Amber Valley. It also helped him to register with a GP and arranged for a food parcel.

Thankfully, Sylwester found a Polish shop nearby and a church where Polish people made up the congregation. Sylwester was unmarried and so had few links to home – he came from Krakow – although he showed Trust staff photos of an animal shelter he’d set up back in Poland.

Although Sylwester had treatment for bowel cancer, he never fully recovered and his pain got worse. By the following year, he had to move into a care home, and Derventio found one with Polish staff for him to talk to and who would make him food that he was familiar with.

This was the last official contact they had with him, although his support worker stayed in touch and continued to visit him up until his death later that year.

“The cost for his funeral had to come out of the money that he left in his will,” says Jackie, “but he gave the rest of the money to us. We called it Sylwester’s fund and put it to our Empowerment Fund so that it would be used to benefit other people.

“Sylwester knew as much as anybody how hard life is without the essentials that other people take for granted and this is what the Empowerment Fund is for, such as paying for official documents, household items or furniture, as well as other items which, although they can seem minor, make a huge difference.

“Sylwester’s Fund was shared out between 22 people in all and it’s helped them all to move forward with their lives which I think is a very fitting way for us to honour his generosity.

“There is still a little bit left - £300 – but we want to raise more to add to the fund and help even more people as Sylwester did.”

Join in with everyone else raising funds for us! Make a donation or set up your fundraising page and start raising money today: localgiving.org/fundraisers