A charity which provides vital care and support for children and families across the West Midlands has more than a thousand reasons to celebrate after being given a grant from the Masonic Charitable Foundation.
Acorns Children’s Hospice has received £1,500 from the foundation to help continue its working caring for children with life limiting and life threatening conditions.
Vicki Rowles, Head of Partnerships Fundraising at Acorns, said: “We’re extremely grateful to the Masonic Charitable Foundation for their generous grant.
“As a charity, we rely on generous donations and fundraising for the majority of the funds we need to continue providing our care. So, grants like this are crucial for us to be able to continue our work. From everyone at Acorns, thank you to the foundation for their grant.”
Acorns Children’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care for children and young people as well as support for their families. This support is offered from the charity’s three hospices, based in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester, and in the community.
In the past year, Acorns has cared for more than 780 children and over 1,220 families, including those who are bereaved.
The cash award from the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is just one of 218 grants to hospices around the country from Freemasons. In total £750,000 will be donated to hospices all over England and Wales this year.
This includes £300,000 which will be distributed to each hospice that receives less than 60 per cent funding from the NHS. A further £450,000 will be provided to individual hospices across England and Wales through Hospice UK, the national charity for hospice care.
A spokesperson for the Masonic Charitable Foundation said: “The Masonic Charitable Foundation is very pleased to have been able to assist Acorns Children’s Hospice. They do an outstanding job helping children with life limiting conditions, as well as supporting their families through very difficult times.”
To find out how you can support Acorns, please visit www.acorns.org.uk
ENDS
For more information or for interview, photograph or filming opportunities, contact the PR and Communications team:
David Chamberlain: 01564 825020 / 07817 612422 / david.chamberlain@acorns.org.uk
Nicki Robinson: 01564 825062 / 07814 302153 / nicki.robinson@acorns.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Due to the sensitive nature of Acorns care services it refrains from using the words ‘terminal’ or ‘terminally ill’ in its press releases and public communications when describing the children who use Acorns and the conditions that they have. Instead, Acorns uses the words ‘life limited’, ‘life limiting’, or ‘life threatening’. Acorns kindly requests that you respect this in your communications when referring to Acorns Children’s Hospice. Acorns children have a lot of living to do. Thank you.
• It costs £27,000 every day to run Acorns services providing care for children and support for their families. The charity relies heavily on donations to fund the majority of its activities.
• To find out more about Acorns, please visit www.acorns.org.uk
