Children’s Hospice Week reveals the incredible work of ellenor in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

This is… Children’s Hospice Week 2020- taking place between 22 and 28 June to celebrate and raise vital funds for the 54 children’s hospices across the UK.

This year the families supported by ellenor have felt the effects of lockdown more than anyone, with social isolation taking its toll, families have been left exhausted after months of providing 24/7 care for their child at home.

ellenor offers these families an absolute lifeline – finding new ways to connect with families and providing vital capacity to take the pressure off the NHS. But as a charity we have faced unprecedented challenges and rely on the amazing generosity of our supporters’ and need to raise £6.9 million each year so we can continue to deliver the best, life-changing care for seriously ill children. With our charity shops having been closed, and supporters having been unable to take part in challenge and fundraising events. We always need your support, for which we really give thanks, but we need it now more than ever. 

Rebecca Scalzo Head of ellenor Childrens Services says: “Children’s Hospice week is a great opportunity to highlight the work of children’s hospices across the country. The families we care for at ellenor are facing great challenges during the coronavirus pandemic and we are proud to be able to work alongside them to offer some of the support they need. With the pandemic continuing and lockdown ongoing for many, the challenge for us is to find new ways of engaging families in supportive services which protect the health of their children in the long term. We rely on the generous support of our communities across Kent and Bexley to help us to do this.”

Led by UK charity Together for Short Lives, national awareness week Children’s Hospice Week will celebrate the amazing children and families we support, and our care staff and supporters who have been working so hard during the coronavirus crisis. And we’re calling on members of the public to support our first-ever Silent Online Auction fundraiser http://tinyurl.com/ycemoy2z to raise money to help us continue providing care to children now and into the future. Bidding will be open to the public from Monday 22 June from 9 am to midnight on 5 July.

“Coronavirus has changed all of our lives, and families caring for a seriously ill child feel more alone than ever,” says Andy Fletcher, CEO for Together for Short Lives. “Lockdown has been so tough for the children and their families and many will carry on shielding long after social distancing ends. So they desperately need the support of their local children’s hospice more than ever. That’s why Children’s Hospice Week is so important this year – it is vital that we pull together to protect the lifeline care that children’s hospices provide for vulnerable families today, tomorrow and long into the future”.  

If you would like to support us by getting involved in our online auction, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/ycemoy2z