MP presents £250k cheque from 64 Trust to Claire House

Last Friday, West Derby MP, Ian Byrne, presented a cheque for £250,000 to Claire House Children’s Hospice on behalf of the 64 Trust. The donation is the first instalment of a £1 million pledge made by the Trust that will help the charity reach more severely and terminally ill children in Merseyside and take the next steps to develop its site in Liverpool.

The funds will be spent on developing facilities at the charity’s site in West Derby, Liverpool and providing vital support across both hospice sites in the Wirral and Liverpool for children and families who have been pushed to their limits during the pandemic.

“This was a great opportunity for our West Deby MP to see the difference the 64 Trust’s donation is going to make to families in Merseyside who rely on the vital services offered by the hospice. Our staff explained how the pandemic made a difficult job even harder and how vital the funds will be in helping the charity prepare for the future in unpredictable times. They also explained our plan to develop facilities at the Liverpool site and hopefully to one day build a second hospice,” said David Pastor, CEO at Claire House.

“It is fantastic to be able to hand over the first tranche of the £1million donation, which will help Claire House Children’s Hospice continue providing support for sick children and their families. It is a wonderful charity and the whole board are looking forward to working with everyone at Claire House,” said John Nelson from the 64 Trust.

“It was a pleasure to be able to help hand over the kind donation from the 64 Trust. Claire House Children’s Hospice, based in the heart of West Derby, is renowned for their excellent care of sick children. They are a real community gem, and I’m looking forward to working with them as they look beyond Covid-19 to secure vital funding from government,” said Ian Byrne, MP for West Derby.

The money will be spent on developing the site in Liverpool from where the charity currently offers day care, clinics, play and music sessions, complementary therapies and counselling. During the pandemic the site has become even more important to the organisation, increasing its capacity to deliver Covid-safe services to many families facing the death of a child at the most difficult of times.

Covid restrictions have also had a devastating impact on Claire House families’ mental health and their grieving process and the charity has seen a big increase in complementary therapy referrals. One of the main elements of the project is to create an enhanced Complementary Therapy Suite, which will include two rooms and new equipment, allowing the team to offer a range of services to families such as massage, reiki and aromatherapy.

Funds will also be spent on:

• Building up our nursing team by creating five new posts and sustaining our existing respite and nursing service
• Refurbishing our Hydrotherapy Pool at Claire House Wirral
• Antenatal classes to support expectant parents through a pregnancy that is likely to result in their child having complex needs or sadly surviving for just a short period of time
• Improving equipment, such as providing nurses with new tablets and a new ‘specialist cuddle bed’ where parents can cuddle their child when they are receiving end of life care

Main image: Ian Byrne MP, Claire House CEO David Pastor, Nicola Kelly and Sophie Chilvers hold up numbers representing the first instalment of the 64 Trust’s donation.

Image credit: Claire House/www.fotopiaimages.com

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