Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West

Registered Charity No. 1003314

Spring • Summer 2011

Children’s Hospice South West (Head Office) Little Bridge House Redlands Road Fremington Barnstaple Devon EX31 2PZ Tel: 01271 325270

Children’s Hospice South West Charlton Farm Charlton Drive Wraxall North Somerset BS48 1PE Tel: 01275 866600

Children’s Hospice South West Precious Lives Appeal 8 Walsingham Place Truro Cornwall TRI 2RP Tel: 01872 261166

Burying the treasure chest courtesy www.timbullenphotography.co.uk

Page 3 Events and updates

Page 4-5 Your help continues to be vital

Page 6-7 Charlton Farm care news

Page 8-9 Charlton Farm-tastic fundraising

Page 10-11 A moment to treasure at Little Harbour

Page 12-13 Big fundraising at Little Harbour

Page 14-15 Little Bridge House care news

Page 16-17 FUNdraising at Little Bridge House

What’s in this issue?

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West2

Page 18-19 Leaving a smile for the future

Page 20 New stores opening

Open Days

Thank you to the 500 supporters who came to open days at our two operational hospices in January, it was a pleasure to see you all!

Don’t forget we also hold open days throughout the year. These days offer a great opportunity for you to come and see first hand what a difference your support makes and of course enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit!

Visit our website for details of all available dates.

By appointment only

Welcome from Eddie

Eddie Farwell, Co-founder and Chief Executive of CHSW.

Dear Friends

2011 will be a momentous year for Children’s Hospice South West, we will celebrate 20 years since the charity was founded, 20 years of making the most of short and precious lives. We will also celebrate the opening of the last piece of the Children’s Hospice South West jigsaw, Little Harbour, our third and final hospice near St. Austell.

All this was and will be made possible by the ongoing generosity of you, our supporters, and we would like to feel we could rely on your continued support for the next 20 years.

As you are all aware the care we provide is both vital and expensive but so very much appreciated by the families who we seek to serve, most of whom you will never meet.

In an uncertain world it is so wonderful when supporters decide to make a regular donation each month. This enables us to plan for the future and continually improve the services we offer.

As we enter this momentous year I would invite you to consider helping us by making a regular gift. Please turn to page 4 to see what a difference could be made through this.

On behalf of all the children and families who have used the services you have so generously made possible, a big thank you.

With very best wishes,

3Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

Events and updates...

Clear starry nights were the backdrop to these beautiful memory walks, Starpath in Barnstaple, Moonlight in Falmouth and Midnight in Bristol. The events were a huge success again, with over 1,700 women joining to raise in excess of £170,000 across the 3 walks.

Don’t forget you can join us again this year in September, or if you can’t wait we are delighted to announce that we are holding a new 7 mile midnight walk on 1st July in Bath and will be adding an Exeter walk to our calendar also. Visit the website for updates as the plans are confirmed.

Memory Walks x 3

Image kindly supplied by Julian James

OTHER WINNERS WERE:222387: Mrs Kitchiner (Devon) – speedboat cruise 209043: Mrs Gardner (Cornwall) – rounds of golf at Exeter G&C Club 314465: Ms Gregory (Devon) – meal for four at Exeter G&C Club 000718: Mrs Sundercombe (Cornwall) – Falmouth Beach Hotel stay 147554: Mr Durrant (Devon) – round of golf at Honiton Golf Club

If you have requested to receive them, you will find your tickets for the September draw in this Newsletter. If you would like to pass on any spare tickets to friends please do so or simply recycle them at home if you don’t wish to use them. Don’t forget to use the freepost envelope provided to return your paid for tickets and your money. Simple!

The CHSW annual draw 2010 saw Mrs Sylvia and Mr John McDougall from Bridgerule near Holsworthy win a brand new Renault Twingo!

“We were flabbergasted to say the least. We entered as it is a simple way to support this great charity and it didn’t even cross our minds for one second that we might actually win!”

Congratulations!

Annual Draw Winners 2010!

Everyone at Children’s Hospice South West wishes to extend grateful thanks to Beryl Griffiths, creator of Granny Trek, and her husband Tony, as well as their small team, for their dedicated support for life-limited children and their families, as well as everyone who has supported the annual Granny Treks at Charlton Farm.

In 1995 they completed their John O’Groats to Land’s End backpack adventure to celebrate Tony’s new status as an old aged pensioner and raise money for the opening of Little Bridge House!

Then in 2005 Beryl completed her first Granny Trek alone, as she walked from Lowestoft to St. David’s Head, walking ten miles a day for sixty days to raise money for the build of Charlton Farm.

She then inspired the setting up of ‘Granny Trek’ at Charlton Farm in 2006 which has run for five years. Her support has helped raise a staggering total of £250,000 for Children’s Hospice South West.

Her book ‘Granny Trek’ which tells a story of her original adventure, is almost sold out but a small number are still available from Charlton Farm and at some local libraries.

A very special thank you to Beryl & Tony from everyone at Children’s Hospice South West

A big thank youWe are delighted to be supported by Tregothnan, suppliers of fresh-cut and beautifully presented flowers, ethically grown in the UK. For every bunch sold in 2011 they will donate 20% of the value to CHSW at no extra cost to you!

Whether it is for a special occasion such as Mother’s Day, a birthday, anniversary or just to show you care, Tregothnan’s bouquets are created with giving in mind and remember throughout 2011 a 20% donation of the value of your bouquet will mean that these beautiful flowers will bring a smile to the recipient but also bring extra special smiles to the children and families we care for.

Flowers are delivered throughout the UK. To place your order please visit www.tregothnanshop.co.uk/chsw or call 01872 520 000 quoting CHSW.

Donations in bloom

How do I become a regular giver?It is so easy to become a regular giver. You can set up a Direct Debit for any amount you choose to come out of your account each month, and that’s it, your donation then comes to us automatically! Every month you can be proud of the knowledge that your donation is reaching the children and families who need our very special care. In an uncertian world it is wonderful when our supporters decide to make a regular donation each month as it enables us to plan for the future. If you think you may be able to support us with a regular donation, you can use the form included in this Newsletter.

Another way to help on a regular basis is to join our Lottery. For just £1 a week you will be entered into our weekly draw for the £1,000 jackpot! And your money will go towards ensuring the crucial care for our families continues. So even if you don’t win one of our big cash prizes each week, you’ll still be a winner – because you will have helped continue the work we do – and that’s something to be proud of.

Why not Join our lottery?

Extra money for free!If you are a tax payer we can claim an extra 25p from the HM Revenue and Customs for every pound of your own money you donate, at no extra cost to you. The only stipulation is that you are a UK taxpayer and have paid tax that is at least equal to the money we reclaim. It really is as simple as that. So a regular gift of £3 a month, would cost you just £36 a year, but we receive £45. All you have to do is fill in the Gift Aid declaration when you make a gift.

Your help continues to be vital

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West4

It is a sad fact that the need for the very special care we provide is going to continue long into the future. There will always be poorly children, well brothers and sisters and mums and dads who need our support. We will be here for as long as they need, but we couldn’t provide this love and care without the overwhelming generosity of you, our supporters. Thank you.

Regular giving is important to us as it helps us to plan for the future. By committing to give an amount monthly, quarterly or annually you are helping make an ongoing difference to the children we care for.

How we thank our closest friendsBy making a regular gift to Children’s Hospice South West you’ll be making an ongoing difference to the lives of many people. In return we’ll make you one of our ‘Close Friends’, which means you’ll receive a special yearly newsletter, as well as something special to make you smile. Thank you.

Your ‘Close Friends’ newsletter

Special ‘Close Friends’ badge showing how much you care

“The support we give the whole family is very special and we can only continue to give this because of

your generosity!”

May 14th - 21st will see our first Raise A Smile Week, simply a week of fundraising to make you smile! We will have some gorgeous badges and hooded jumpers for sale that will make you smile whilst raising vital funds for our families. Keep an eye on our website for more news!

Raise A Smile Week

5Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

The care we provide is much more than medical, our mission is to help families create wonderful memories that they can treasure forever. Below is a letter written by a mum following a very special Christmas visit to our families from a team of motorcycle enthusiasts as part of their Christmas ‘Santas on a bike’ event. With your help we can continue to give families memories like these.

Alongside our families we laughed, we cried, we sat quietly, we ran riot, we made the most of short and precious lives. Your £3 a month will help us continue to do this.

If you feel you are able to support us with £3 a month please use the form included and return it in the freepost envelope today. Thank you.

We accepted 60 new familiesWe cared for 339 life-limited childrenWe catered for 1095 mealtimesWe provided 10,000 bed nights for our children and familiesWe gave over 75,000 hours of care (that’s 24/7 every single day of the year)

We like the number 3. Three is only a small number, you might wonder how such a small number can make such a big difference? For us, 3 is special because it is the number of operational hospice sites we will have by the end of 2011. These 3 hospices will enable us to provide our very special kind of care to over 600 children and their whole families in the South West region. Our 3 hospices will mean that any family who needs us will only have to travel for 90 minutes to reach us.

The care we provide 24 hours a day 365 days a year to our families is very special, it is also very expensive and we rely almost entirely on voluntary donations.

Could you help us continue to make the most of short and precious lives with just £3 a month?

Look at what £3 a month helped us to do in 2010

To ‘Santas on a bike’,

I am writing to you to say a big thanks to all those who took part in Santas on a bike.

Myself and my four sons were staying at the hospice the day you came and despite the rain we thoroughly enjoyed your visit and loved looking at the great bikes.

My youngest son Isaac is profoundly disabled both physically and mentally and has complex health needs. Our stays at Charlton Farm are what keeps us going - the respite they provide enables us valuable time and space to recharge our batteries which helps us cope better when we go home.

During your visit you kindly gave us the chance to visit the ‘real Santa’ where we all received a present, thank you so much - Isaac’s present was a ‘Mr Tickle’ toy which laughs and tickles when you press it. Isaac loves it and has laughed so much he’s nearly cried! He is still laughing at it 24 hours later!

Once again a huge thanks to you all for your generosity and kindness, we have more wonderful memories of another great day at Charlton Farm, which will mean so much when Isaac is no longer with us.

With best wishes

Vanessa, Jake, Sam, Joseph and Isaac

Regular giving helps us support families like Vanessas

Charlton Farm5th December 2010

“Weneed your

help!”3 is ourmagic number

Isaac and his brothers at Charlton Farm

Charlton Farm news

A special remembering day

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West6

Every autumn at Charlton Farm we hold a Remembering Day for those families who have sadly lost a child in the previous year. Mums, dads, brothers and sisters, grandparents and carers are invited to come for the day and spend time with other families to talk about their children and share precious memories. The day culminates with an informal ‘gathering’ led by our Chaplain followed by a colourful and very poignant balloon release in the garden.

Despite high anxiety about the weather, we were lucky to have bright sunshine on the day!

For some of our families it was their first visit back to Charlton Farm since their child died, so every effort was made to ensure that our families are very well supported.

After a warm welcome and a ‘getting to know you’ game the adults and children separated to take part in various craft activities.

The Sibling Team at Charlton Farm have a huge amount of knowledge and experience regarding childhood bereavement. They put together a plan for the day which gave the children time to talk about their brothers and sisters, reflect on sad and happy memories and to have lots of FUN! One of the highlights of the day was kite flying. A blue sky and gusting winds meant that the sky was the limit. The children’s faces were a picture, some had never flown a kite before and one child proudly told every one that the kite was so high that his brother who is now a star in the sky would see it!

The siblings had their own special lunch, the younger ones enjoying a party buffet whilst the older ones ate at their own table with the adults.

Pictures were painted, leaves stencilled, stars cut out and messages written ready for the gathering and balloon release. A ‘graffiti’ board was a great hit with the older children, spray painting and throwing paint at the board and people! …. was a wonderful release.

At the gathering, a story teller read the story of Badgers Parting Gift which tells of loss and grief in a gentle way that children can understand. Candles were then lit to remember all those children who had died. A tree was decorated with messages and each child collected their own gift from under the tree, a star that they could hang at Christmas for their brother or sister. The gathering was a very special time for everyone, with tears being shed but also moments of laughter when good memories were shared.

The balloon release was a very fitting end to the day. Each member of every family had a balloon with their own personal message attached. After a short ’reflection’ given by our Chaplain Rosie the balloons were released en masse into the clear bright autumn sky.

The feedback we have received about the day has been very positive, both from parents and children alike. Those of us who were privileged to work alongside the families on the day would all agree that the day was a fitting tribute both to the children we were remembering and to the courage and strength of their families.

Julie Gilfoyle, Care Team Leader at Charlton Farm

“one child proudly told every one that the kite was so high that his brother who

is now a star in the sky would see it!”

A weekend of teenage

fun!Four teenagers joined us for a weekend of fun starting with Friday night burger and film night complete with a supply of their favourite films - ranging from High School Musical, to Rocky and Karate Kid!

The boys spent most of the evening playing table football while the girls watched films and relaxed in the pool preparing for the Saturday!

The girls spent the morning at the mall. Shopping for clothes and sipping hot choc, while the boys went bowling.The afternoon was filled with pamper time for the girls with professional hair and nail therapists who got them ready for the surprise evening - the dining room had been transformed into an Italian themed restaurant!

The young people were treated to a fab three course meal cooked by Zoe (our brilliant cook) and they were all waited on by the care team!

Following the meal we had the biggest success of the weekend. A drive around Bristol in a stretch Limo which our teenagers described as amazing.

After the Limo ride we had then organised a superstar DJ to come and play at the C.F. Disco (in the wonderfully decorated conservatory).

By 10:30 we had four partied out teens!

Sunday was a day for relaxing as well as a trip into Bristol to a circus skills workshop!

These weekends are so important for our teenagers and I thank the care team for all their hard work organising this very special weekend.

Carl Joy, Care Team Leader

7Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

Charlton Farm fundraising

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West8

In memory of AimeeJackie Humphries is a bereaved mum of Aimee who sadly died in September 2009. The Humphries’ family are from Emersons Green Bristol and arranged a ball as a celebration in memory of Aimee. Jackie worked tirelessly to make the event special and raise vital funds for CHSW. Jackie and her team of friends and family have raised over £15,000 from their ball in October, what a wonderful legacy from their beautiful daughter. Thank you.

It has been known for supporters to come up with unusual ways of raising vital funds but when eleven members of Bath Beaufort Townswomen’s Guild recorded a Christmas song and made a comedy video we were thrilled! The ‘mature’ ladies known as the Treetoppers dressed up as funky fairies to promote their CD with the hilarious accompanying video shown on the online video site, You Tube. They would have given the latest X Factor winner a run for his money!

These fairies have the X-Factor

Robin MacKay from Clevedon and Mike Southwick from Almondsbury have raised a staggering £60,000 since 2000 by organising golf days at Castle Combe in Wiltshire.We can’t imagine how many rounds of golf have been played but this effort is certainly above par!

A round of golf anyone?

Neil Andow completed the 2010 Snowdonia Marathon in a time of 3:26 mins and finished 119th out of over 2000 competitors. It was his first ever marathon and it’s said to be the hardest marathon in Europe, especially with the challenging weather conditions on the day. Neil has raised a fantastic amount of around £1,100 for Children’s Hospice South West. Many thanks to Neil and all of you fit people out there that raise funds for us running in events all over the country!

It’s SNOW easy feat

On Sunday 10 October 2010 Martyn Baker completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London. He finished in 1 hour, 36 minutes and 44 seconds and raised a wonderful £800 for CHSW! Martyn is part of the Bridgwater Friends Group and vowed that this would be the one and only marathon he would take part in…however he now seems to have the bug and will be running in the 2011 London Marathon as part of the CHSW team!! Well done Martyn - we are all behind you!

A royal effort

This annual cream tea hosted by the Nailsea Friends Group raised a huge £403.90 and was made a lively event with a free performance from The Bristol Morris Men! Approximately 150 scones were enjoyed and many cups of tea drunk as the Morris Men kept everyone entertained on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Many thanks to all of you out there who continue to hold cream tea events around the region for us - yummy!

Morris Men and cream teas

9Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

Food suppliers, Brakes’ South West offices have chosen to support CHSW across the region. Their fundraising efforts throughout the regional offices have included cake sales and car boots, sponsored walks with one team joining our beautiful Midnight Memory Walk in Bristol last September. The Highbridge office recently held a Cook-Up of bacon and sausage sandwiches for all staff and drivers as a breakfast treat. This has contributed to the overall fundraising which stands at an incredible £8,000 raised since June 2010!

Brake-ing Records

September saw law firm Bond Pearce in Bristol, hold an abseil in support of CHSW as part of their Charity of the Year fundraising. More than 50 people took part in the 104 ft abseil which ran down the side of Bond Pearce’s 8 storey office in Bristol’s Temple Quay! This daring feat raised a fantastic £12,000 for Children’s Hospice South West. A huge thank you to all that took part, that certainly is a legal victory to celebrate!

A legal victory!

Our corporate supporters have been showing their active side recently, completing the famous UK Three Peaks Challenge in under 24 hours. 16 staff members from Phoenix Surveying, Yate, completed the challenge of

climbing the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in

support of CHSW. GE Oil and Gas, Nailsea also completed the challenge for the second year running, with 17 employees from the company taking part. Both teams raised over £5,000

each in sponsorship, that really is a mountain of effort!

At the Peak of Success

He’s ‘Bean’ bike riding!In March Nick Macbean rode with 35 friends and family just over 100 miles over two days from Reading to Charlton Farm in memory of his beautiful daughter Abbie. After many punctures and some very sore bums they raised over £12,000.Nick describes his reason for the ride; “Sitting in the hospice whilst my son Ollie was being cared for by the wonderful staff at Charlton Farm I decided that I needed to organise a fundraising event to in some small way thank CHSW for everything they had done for my family.CHSW became a true life-line to my family during some very difficult times. Our daughter Abbie developed meningitis when she was 4 weeks old and as a result suffered huge brain damage and many complications. We also have a son (Ollie) with a rare genetic condition which has meant that he is life-limited and severely disabled. Abbie spent most of her 20 month life in and out of various hospitals miles from home. This would mean that the family was divided up while one of us would care for Abbie at hospital, the other would care for our other two children at home (Isobel, Abbie’s twin, and Ollie). The hospice provided us with the much-needed respite that allowed us to be able to continue to cope during these tough times.The care team at Charlton Farm treated Abbie as if she was their own child, with such amazing love and care. When Abbie passed away the hospice gave us such incredible support. I cannot fully explain to you on how many different levels the hospice has helped us and is continuing to help us and I know that they were key to our survival during these difficult times.”

There is nothing more glorious than carpets of bluebells; this is nature at its best and a quintessential sight in the spring. The bluebell woods that surround Charlton Farm have long been loved by the staff and families, and we would love you to join us this spring on May 15th to enjoy the carpets of blue for our new Bluebell walks. The whole family can participate in these sponsored walks with three different length walks to choose from making for a great day out for all the family finished off with a lovely picnic, or enjoy the stalls in our country-style market.

Register at www.chsw.org.uk

Bluebell Walk

New

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West10

Little Harbour news...Symbolic ceremony - a moment to treasure at Little HarbourSaturday 9th October marked an important day for our Precious Lives Appeal.

Undeterred by the winds, hundreds of supporters gathered at Little Harbour in Porthpean to witness the symbolic laying of the foundation stone by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and the burial of the ‘Treasured Memories Chest’.

The chest contains warm wishes and treasured memories from supporters around Cornwall and Plymouth, collected with the help of Pirate FM. From special memories to aspirations for the future, dedications to loved ones to best wishes to those who will use Little Harbour, the chest is filled with poignant messages.

One supporter summed up the mood of the day with their message: “I wish that Little Harbour is filled with love and laughter and holds special memories for families and life limited children, I wish that cures could be found and that no one suffers the heartbreak of losing a child and watching them suffer. I wish that the staff are loving and supportive and that in the near future we can prevent these illnesses. But in the meantime I wish lots of love for everyone involved in Little Harbour and to all the hundreds and thousands of people who have contributed to making this happen.”

The foundation stone, which was blessed by the Bishop of Truro and laid by Lady Mary Holborow, bears the inscription “Do not forget to welcome strangers, for by doing that some people have entertained angels without knowing it”. These words from Hebrews Chapter 13, Verse 2 are very apt for Little Harbour, which will be such a homely, friendly place welcoming children, families, staff and supporters of all religions, races, and backgrounds.

With Little Harbour as the backdrop the ceremony was a very moving occasion. CHSW Chief Executive and Co-Founder, Eddie Farwell comments:

“My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported our appeal to date. We hope you stay

with us for the journey.”

“The families of Cornwall and Plymouth who have children who are not expected to reach

adulthood really need this hospice, and with the continued support of local people, businesses, and

organisations we can ensure this happens.”

“We have watched Little Harbour rise up from the ground since April 2010 and start to take shape and we are now entering the final phase of our Precious Lives Appeal which is fantastic news.

We must not however lose sight of the fact that we still need to reach that £5 million target to

make Little Harbour a reality.”

“This ceremony was important to mark what we have achieved so far and look forward to where

we are going. It is so exciting to think that by October 2011 we should be very close to opening

the doors of Little Harbour to the first families.”

Burying the treasure chest courtesy www.timbullenphotography.co.uk

Laying the foundation stone courtesy www.timbullenphotography.co.uk

Pirate FM help Raise the Roof for Little HarbourPirate FM listeners have been busy buying virtual roof tiles for Little Harbour. Whether buying a tile in memory of a loved one, to dedicate to someone in lieu of a present, purchasing a few after a whip round the office, or just to do their bit, the ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign has really caught on. So far over 2,500 virtual roof tiles have been bought by listeners, raising over £12,500 for our Precious Lives Appeal.

From organising the ‘Cash Mountain Challenge’ to making collections at events, entertaining the ladies taking part in the Moonlight Memory Walk to promoting our appeal on air, Pirate FM’s support as official media partners has been fantastic and we are thrilled this will be continuing throughout 2011. A huge thank you to the Pirate FM team and all their listeners for helping us to turn the dream of Little Harbour into a reality.

Why we need a children’s hospice in CornwallKym Sefton, from Camborne, used Little Bridge House for many years with her son Nathan and their family. Here she tells her story and why having Little Harbour is so important.

“When my son Nathan was born in January 1991 our family’s life would take a very different journey than the path we’d planned.

“After many admissions to hospital Nathan was diagnosed at the age of four with a very rare genetic condition – so rare there was only one other surviving child worldwide with a similar condition. Imagine feeling you are the only one – isolated.

“We were told not to expect Nathan to live too long and that is when my son’s paediatrician referred our family to our nearest children’s hospice, Little Bridge House near Barnstaple. It was a lifeline to our family, though so far to travel. At times Nathan was too unwell to travel but when we could make it, it was like a haven: quality time with our children and a few precious minutes with each other, just being able to take a bath knowing your children were being cared for – priceless. We became part of the Little Bridge House family and Nathan was always smiling.”

With so many lovely memories of Little Bridge House Kym and her family decided that when the time came that is where they wanted to be with Nathan. In January 2010, on Nathan’s nineteenth birthday, he was taken very ill and made his last journey to the hospice. Kym continues:

“I travelled in the ambulance with Nathan, and my husband Julian and the children, William, Leon and Josephine, followed in cars. It was blue lights all the way with beautiful snow scenes surrounding us. The nurse tried to prepare me asking “Have you noticed his breathing is slowing?” and answered truthfully “yes” when I ask “Is Nathan really going to die?”. I pulled the blanket up in front of Nathan’s face to keep the sun out of his eyes and had to undo my belt to hold his hand as we rolled around a little on the roads.

“We arrived at the entrance to Little Bridge House and as we reversed I got up to look out of the rear window and saw Tracy had come to the doors to greet us. I turned back, realising in that moment I had let go of Nathan’s hand and he had died.

“I know people will say you will always have ifs, but ifs to me mean: If we had a hospice in Cornwall we could have got there in time for us all to say our goodbyes, the whole family. If we didn’t have to travel so far Nathan could have been in a comfortable bed, not on an ambulance stretcher when he died. If we had a hospice in Cornwall our family could have had the one thing that is never replaceable – time.”

11Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West12

Rekindling some of the magic of the festivities of yesteryear, our Launceston Friends Group put on a ‘Hand Made Christmas’ event in November. This new event was a chance for families to create individual gifts, decorations, and food for Christmas, start new family traditions and raise money

for Little Harbour. The event really put some old fashioned family fun into festive preparations and raised a fantastic £2,000. Thank you!

A hand made ChristmasPhoenix Health Care Services Ltd, who supply temporary health support workers to clients around Cornwall, supported our Precious Lives Appeal last year by donating a percentage of their

takings each week for six months from May to November. The kind hearted company,

with the help of their carers and clients (including Cornwall Care, Cornwall

County Council, Cornwall NHS Trust, Brandon Trust, and many private nursing and care homes), raised a fantastic £3,821 for our Precious Lives Appeal. What a simple but effective way to help.

A company who really cares

Balfour Beatty have come up with a novel fundraising idea which they hope will raise £5,000. The Tiny Time Capsule scheme for the Plymouth Life Centre offers members of the public visiting the Life Centre viewing platform the opportunity to ‘buy’ a small vial and fill it with memorabilia. These are then dropped into pre-drilled holes

in the concrete blocks being used in the construction of the Life Centre. We buried our very own Tiny Time Capsule which chronicles the progress of our Precious Lives Appeal with a data stick full of information, articles and photographs.

Tiny time capsule is big fundraiserLast year both Caroline Swain from St. Austell and Nicky Manning from Truro successfully conquered the brutal Mount Kilimanjaro, raising thousands of pounds to help build Little Harbour in the process. The extreme trek saw them climbing to the summit of the world’s tallest free-standing mountain – 5,895 metres high! If you’ve got a sense of adventure and the desire to do something challenging for a great cause, why not give us a call to take the first step towards an experience of a lifetime?

A mountainous effort

Popular author David Bourne has been kindly supporting our appeal through book signings around the South West, raising over £700 to date. His books The Three Camels and The Camel of Soloma follow the adventures of Nathan, Zadie, and Soloma. They are set in and around the Camel Estuary so have an immediate connection for everyone who lives in, or who has visited, that part of Cornwall. David says that helping our cause to build a children’s hospice in Cornwall, and giving something back to the local community, somehow makes his books complete. We can’t wait for the next instalment when David writes the third book of the trilogy!

A Bourne writer

Little Harbour fundraising

Two local Friends Groups took fashion to new fundraising heights when they organised two nearly new clothes sales and a fashion show. Proving that great fashion is always in demand, the Yelverton Friends clothes sale raised £2,000, whilst the Tavistock Friends Group raised £1,800 at their fashionable events.

Fashionable fundraising

A precious paintingThe beautiful Little Harbour painting created by Cornish artist Nicholas St. John Rosse was won by a very delighted Sarah Bray from Launceston. The atmospheric picture, which includes our CHSW logo on the sail of a boat, was painted especially to be raffled for our Precious Lives Appeal and raised an amazing £4,223. Thank you Nicholas for your wonderful support.

Eleven employees from eleven local businesses raised over £5,000 for our Precious Lives Appeal by taking to the skies on 11th September. The LESW Charity Skydive Challenge, organised by Camborne based event management company Live Events South West, was created to encourage more local businesses to kick start or build upon their Corporate Social Responsibility. A short film has been produced from the successful first event to raise awareness of CHSW and show just how rewarding supporting a local charity can be. Visit www.lesw.co.uk to see the video, photo gallery, and who was involved.

High flyers

Boringdon Golf Club was the venue for Plymouth based Friends Group Freya’s Angels’ Halloween Masquerade Ball. With delicious food, fantastic entertainment and some great prizes up for grabs it was a wonderful evening enjoyed by all – so much so that the group has been asked to do it again next Halloween! Congratulations on such a successful event, raising around £4,500.

Having a ballThree men from a Penzance company successfully completed their kayak challenge; to peddle and paddle their way from Truro to Porthpean to help raise funds for our appeal. Congratulations to Andy Monteith, Ross Burrow, and Paul Condon of Goldsithney based Monteith Fencing for making it to the end of their ‘Big Pedaddle’ despite the delays caused by the awful weather. They have raised nearly £2,000 to help make the dream of Little Harbour a reality. Well done!

Not content with pedaling from Lands End to John O’Groats and back in aid of our appeal, Andrew Miners from Helston has set a gruelling new cycling challenge. In July he aims to cycle around the British coastline, almost 4000 miles, in just a month. He will be setting off from Little Harbour in Porthpean on 2nd July, where he hopes to return thirty days later on 31st July. If you’re interested in joining Andy and taking on the ABC30 Challenge please contact us at the Truro office for further details.

It’s as easy as ABC

Four young and enthusiastic Scillonian lads – Sam James (9), Sam Stephan (9), Cameron Hicks (11), and Ethan Badcock (9) – undertook a hard long row last Summer from St. Marys on the Isles of Scilly to the uninhabited Isle of Sampson. No easy journey in the rough waters off Scilly in the Atlantic Ocean! Rowing 1.7 nautical miles and raising £585.32 for our Precious Lives Appeal, it was a fantastic achievement. This year, and one year older they intend to do it all over again, and perhaps even further! Many congratulations and thanks to these spirited youngsters.

No stopping these Scilly boys

Villagers pull togetherA big thank you to the village of Paul and Mousehole near Penzance for helping to raise over £25,000 since we launched our Precious Lives Appeal. The money has been raised in a variety of ways, including the sale of Alf Steggles’ very tasty and popular marmalade. Well done all – a great community effort!

Charity lunches

Big Pedaddle for Little Harbour

13Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

We are thrilled to welcome Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth to our Charity Lunches initiative this year – a scheme endorsed by Masterchef and CHSW supporter Peter Gorton. Look out for the delicious lunch time offers at Tanners, The Horn of Plenty and Lewtrenchard Manor.

Photo courtesy of LESW Event Photography

Little Bridge House news

All aboard under captain’s ordersWe always try to make the time the siblings spend at the hospice fun and exciting, a chance to really relax and enjoy being children. So when we were invited to visit HMS Turbulent submarine we were so excited! HMS Turbulent is being de-commissioned at the end of 2011 and when they heard about us through a bereaved dad they wholeheartedly threw themselves into supporting us. The sibling team enjoyed a guided tour of the submarine and even got to try on the Captains hat. Ahoy there matey!

The day Clifford came to visitThere is never a dull day at Little Bridge House. One of the reasons the children enjoy coming here is that there is always something fun happening, like the day a giant dog made of balloons showed up!

After much discussion as to whether he was a dog, a reindeer or the Disney character Pluto, we decided he was most definitely (probably) a dog!

Emily who was staying at Little Bridge House with her family loved taking him around the house showing everyone her new friend and then introducing him to her brother James. The smile on his face was huge as we all had a chat about what we should call him! We decided on Clifford!

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West14

“Seeing first hand what you do, was amazing…”

15Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

Helen Davis a 2nd year student paediatric nurse at University of Birmingham spent four weeks within Little Bridge House on a work placement in 2010. Here she describes her experience of being in the house. Even as someone who works with poorly children she describes her concerns over what Little Bridge House might have been like;

“Initially the placement was a daunting thought having only had clinical placements within hospital environments on short stay medical/surgical and neuro-surgical wards. However, spending time within this remarkable environment turned out to be such an invaluable placement for me as a student nurse, learning skills that would never have been possible upon wards. The placement allowed me to witness just how valuable hospices and the support they provide are to families. Without a doubt I feel the experience has contributed considerably to both my professional and personal development, hopefully making me a better nurse once I qualify.

The staff at Little Bridge House are amazing and the work they do has been inspirational and motivating to me as a student at the beginning of my career. I would like to say a massive thank you to all the families I met during my placement and for allowing me to observe and spend time helping to take care of your children during your stay at the hospice. Little Bridge House and the Children’s Hospice South West charity will remain close to my heart for many years to come; thank you to everyone for such a valuable experience.”

Many people don’t know what to expect when they imagine the hospice, for families who could make use of our services it is a daunting prospect to come through our doors. But once they arrive, as Helen found, it is a welcoming sanctuary for children and their families and a place to make memories.

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West16

Little Bridge House fundraising

Andy Lee, and his partner Emma Whitcombe from Glastonbury were joined by family and friends on The George Lee Rainbow Walk,

in memory of George, Andy’s son who sadly passed away at Little Bridge

House in 2009. The sponsored walk across Exmoor was a lovely way for the family to celebrate George’s life and the money raised will go on to help more wonderful

children and their families in the future.

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbowInspired by a friend’s battle with cancer, the Rackenford Club organised a charity ball to support CHSW.

Due to the amazing support and help of the community and friends it meant that with the field kindly lent by Mr and Mrs F Phillips and a marquee kindly donated by Matt Ranger the venue and ambience made for a great evening

The amount raised at the ball was an incredible £732 to be divided between us and other local charities. The event is being held again this year, so get your gowns ready for 2011!

Get your glad rags on

A member of Barnstaple Friends Group – Joyce Easey – has been busy with her knitting needles and the result is a unique set of Nativity figures including the resplendent three Kings and a charming looking Donkey!

Over the years Joyce has knitted over 25 of these sets, many of which have been sold in the CHSW shops and now take pride of place in numerous homes during the Christmas season.

Depending on the mood she is in Joyce says it can take anything from a couple to twelve hours of constant knitting to create these charming figures.

Joyce makes it look EaseyA concert in aid of CHSW and presented by West Wind, an ensemble formed from the principal wind players in The Salomon Orchestra, London’s leading non-professional Orchestra, was enjoyed by Tiverton’s Friends Group as they welcomed the players for the second year of what aims to be an annual event.

The programme had wide-ranging appeal, with pieces from composers such as Puccini, Dvorak, Mozart and others.

The highly regarded wind octet, plus double bass and flute, performed the concert in Cheriton Fitzpaine Church to an appreciative audience, raising £1,372. Now, that’s music to our ears.

Music be the food of love

A motoring success

Rachel Sanders from Wellington took on the Three Peaks Challenge, climbing the three highest peaks, Scafell Pike in England, Snowdon in Wales and Ben Nevis in Scotland, within 24 hours! Joined by Becky and Brian Baylis and Trevor Debenham, these intrepid climbers scaled over 3407 metres of mountain raising a mighty £810! Rachel was excited about supporting the work we do and is now planning her next adventure, a marathon! Best of luck!

Rachel reaches her peak The caring box based in Okehampton creates special gift boxes for anyone who has to go into hospital, hospice or nursing home. Fenella Haffenden and Joan Goodridge fill each box with a wonderful combination of gifts - or you can customise a box yourself. Treats, practical items and presents are all included, are beautifully presented and the box is completed with a personalised card.

Both Fenella and Joan were inspired following a visit to LBH and have pledged 2% from the sale of each box to CHSW. They also donated 12 boxes for the children.

The company who caresRon and Glenda Frost who own a private motor museum in Willand, opened the doors to display a wonderful range of cars and even a 1930s fire engine and motoring memorabilia from yesteryear. This trip back in time was thoroughly enjoyed by the crowds including Culm Valley Friends Group who assisted on this summer’s afternoon. The event was a motoring success raising £1,200.

17Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

A birthday wish

Nick Thorn from Woolacombe is well regarded as an expert waterman, competing in many Ironman and surf lifesaving events around the world.

At 1pm on September 9th he stepped into the waters off Lundy Island and swam over 20 miles back to Woolacombe beach. A distance almost the same as the cross-Channel Dover to Calais swim and a swim that had never been completed solo before.

His final time was 6hrs 26mins and he raised over £5,000! Nick was keen to thank everyone involved who helped him on the day and we are keen to thank Nick for his record breaking effort!

A record swim for Nick

What’s got 600 legs and raised £2,000?200 supporters on horse back of course! This year’s Ashill Fun Ride in Devon organised by Anne Brummit welcomed riders of all ages from as far afield as Barnstaple, Dawlish, Chard and Highbridge in Somerset. The event was a huge success, raising over £2,000.

The day of the Fun Ride was blessed with good weather, and by 10am riders, trailers and horse boxes were converging for the start on Derek Richards’ field behind Ashill village church. The event benefited from the generosity of the farmers and landowners, which enabled a 12 mile off-road ride through glorious countryside, fields and woodland, including the experience of the Kittow’s training gallops. Anne is already saddling up her plans for next year’s ride!

Local artists, Patricia Lomax and Val Hampson from Okehampton, opened their studio doors to show their work as part of the Devon Artists Network countywide art event, and auctioned Patricia’s fabulous ‘Creeping Shadows’ to raise money for CHSW.

Patricia and Val decided they wanted to be able to give something back to the community and have agreed that, each will auction a painting for charity over the next two years. Patricias painting raised over £300!

Patricia said; ‘Both Val and myself feel privileged to be here doing what we both love and saw our open studio week as a great opportunity to give something back and help local families facing more difficult times.’

Paint and Donate

A new carpet for Hedgehog!Perrigo, based in Braunton, set about fundraising to pay for a much needed new carpet for our Hedgehog Room, one of the children’s bedrooms. Funds were raised by various competitions including a ten-pin bowling competition every week for local firms, skittles nights and other fun evenings raising enough money to purchase a burnished copper coloured carpet for the children to enjoy. We welcomed the company’s staff on a visit to see their new carpet in place!

A good innings The annual cricket match organised by Oakford Friends was another huge success this year. The Oakford CHSW supporters 11, played the Tom Scudamore Jockey’s 11, made up of world class jockeys! Despite the jockeys natural sporting prowess the CHSW team won for the 2nd year in a row, and the event raised £2,500, A great fun day, the sun shone and the crowd went wild!

Well done Oakford Friends.

Olivia Tucker from Chulmleigh made a surprise request for presents for her 9th Birthday, when instead of toys she asked everyone to donate to CHSW.

After planning her party, Olivia decided she did not need gifts instead she wanted her party to help support other young people less fortunate than herself.

Olivia was able to donate an incredible £266.10 which she gave to Little Bridge House when paying a visit with some of her school friends and family. She has since given a talk to her school about what we do at CHSW! We were stunned by the generosity and thoughtfulness of someone so young. Olivia is a remarkable young lady with a big heart.

A combined effortWhen Beaverbrooks Jewellers gave £60 to each staff member to donate to a charity of their choice, Exeter Branch staff managed by Adam Burrows with his wife Jo, chose to combine theirs and donate £360 to CHSW. Jo has participated in a Memory Walk at

Charlton Farm and husband Adam a bike ride in the past and now two more staff are undertaking a skydive! This is a fantastic team effort.

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West18

tribute

smile

The SMILE Tribute is a very special way to remember a loved one who has died – your very own personalised website which provides the opportunity to display images, video clips and play music, in addition to expressing cherished memories. A place for family and friends to share their recollections and thoughts and the option to allow public access, or keep your site private – it’s entirely your choice.In addition to setting up a tribute to store your precious memories you have the option to raise funds for Children’s Hospice South West by collecting donations through your site, in memory of your loved one. Donations can be made directly, in support of events or to remember special dates such as birthdays or anniversaries.Your SMILE Tribute site is very easy to set up and maintain, even for those with little or no computer knowledge and it’s a very special way to remember – a place to create Special Memories In Love Everlasting. Visit www.chsw.org.uk/tribute

Gifts in WillsWe were honoured to receive over £1.7 million through legacy giving during 2010 – an incredible amount of support, given so selflessly, from a gift which may never receive the gratitude it deserves. Without such acts of generosity and kindness we would struggle to maintain the services we provide to so many families from across the South West region. Gifts in Wills have helped us to build Little Bridge House and Charlton Farm and are helping with the construction of Little Harbour. They help us immensely with our ongoing running costs, which will be £8.5 million per year once Little Harbour opens in 2011, rising to a projected £9.5 million from 2015.Leaving a gift to Children’s Hospice South West in your Will is not complicated and it can be of whatever size – every gift makes a difference. A legacy may even help to negate part of the inheritance tax liability from your estate.If you would like further information about leaving a gift in your Will to Children’s Hospice South West, or would like to know how to amend your existing Will using the Codicil form included in this newsletter, please feel free to give us a call.

Book of PledgesLeaving a gift to benefit someone you may never meet and who will never have the opportunity to say thank you is an incredibly selfless act.It’s unfortunate, but often we are only aware of a legacy after the death of a supporter and so we rarely have the opportunity to thank someone directly. It’s because of this that we have created the Children’s Hospice South West Book of Pledges as a way to record such kindness – a beautifully illustrated dedication for our legacy supporters to personalise the reason for their pledge.If you have decided to leave a gift to us in your Will and would like us to create a special page for your pledge, then please let us know and we can arrange this for you. We are so grateful for the support of a long - standing talented volunteer in creating this beautiful book.Our Book of Pledges is kept at Little Bridge House and can be viewed by family and friends and we will also send you a copy of your personalised page, for you to keep.

Discounted Will writing schemeChildren’s Hospice South West has arranged a discounted Will writing scheme for our supporters, with three leading law firms from across the South West region.

A Will is a very important part of your financial planning and if you haven’t written yours yet, or reviewed it recently, you may find it beneficial to speak to a lawyer from one of the firms which is supporting Children’s Hospice South West.

Slee Blackwell, a leading firm in North Devon, will be covering the Little Bridge House area from their network of local offices.

Foot Anstey, a major regional firm, have agreed to provide this service to support the Precious Lives Appeal, specifically concentrating on the Truro and Plymouth area, directly from their Truro offices.

In Bristol, we have arranged that the established law firm, Gregg Latchams LLP, will offer this scheme for people who reside in the Charlton Farm area.

If you would like further information on the CHSW discounted Will writing scheme please contact us. We can arrange for a Wills questionnaire to be sent to you and provide you with the relevant contact details for each firm involved.

If you would like any information on any of the above please call Little Bridge House on 01271 325270 and ask to speak to Rob Emery rob.emery@chsw.org.uk

Join companies from across the South West to compete in Children’s Hospice South West’s biggest regional corporate event, the Corporate Challenge. The 2011 event will mark the fourth year of this fantastic adventure race, and this year’s new look event will bring more teams together, new challenges and a brand new location.

The event takes place on Saturday 18th June 2011 at the Okehampton Training Camp in Dartmoor National Park. Teams will compete in skill, fitness and problem solving, with sections on bike and foot, in the beautiful surroundings of Dartmoor National Park to be crowned the Corporate Challenge Winners 2011.

The 2011 event will also bring the first year of our two level entry system - offering a challenge and extreme level choice for teams competing. As always, the only way to find out what this year’s Corporate Challenge has in store, is to be there - so book your team’s place now!

Teams of 4-6 people from businesses across the South West can enter the Corporate Challenge 2011. To sign up there is a registration fee of £45 per person including bike hire (or £35/

person with your own bike) and each team is asked to pledge to raise a minimum of £1,500.

For more information about the Corporate Challenge 2011

please call 01275 866600, visit www.chsw.org.uk/corporatechallenge or email corporate@chsw.org.uk

NEW LOOK CORPORATE CHALLENGE IN 2011

19Visit us at www.chsw.org.uk

When good neighbours become good friendsThe Good Neighbours Trust has supported CHSW for a number of years contributing much needed funds towards projects – including the swings at Charlton Farm which the children love. We are delighted that the Trustees have continued to support CHSW by awarding £20,000 to be used to build and fit out the Toy Store at Little Harbour which will be filled with a range of

toys for all the family. We certainly know of some children who will think this is the best room in the whole house! Thanks to the Trust’s generous support, many happy hours will be spent with children and their families playing with the toys from the store long into Little Harbour’s future.

Clare’s lasting legacyThe Clare Pengelly Trust was established in memory of Clare Pengelly by her family, following Clare’s tragic death in an accident in 1994. Clare was at one time England Number Two Cadet and leading junior in table tennis and represented England and her county of Devon several times. The Clare Pengelly Trust have organised an annual Table Tennis tournament - The Clare Pengelly Memorial Tournament – to commemorate her name and raise funds for charity.

The Trust chose to support CHSW each year as Rachel Pengelly-Bourke, Clare’s sister explains, “As Clare had eighteen happy and healthy years, we found it fitting that less fortunate children should benefit from such an event. Over the last fourteen years, we have raised over £21,000 which we hope will have helped the children and their families being cared for by CHSW.”

The tournament has been made possible by the incredible efforts of Clare’s family, friends, those involved in the organisation and delivery of the tournaments, the players and the many supporters of the event. CHSW would like to thank The Clare Pengelly Trust for the wonderful funds that this event has raised in Clare’s name.

Making the most of short and precious lives across the South West20

Children’s Hospice South West (Head Office) Little Bridge House Redlands Road Fremington Barnstaple Devon EX31 2PZ Tel: 01271 325270

Children’s Hospice South West Charlton Farm Charlton Drive Wraxall North Somerset BS48 1PE Tel: 01275 866600

Children’s Hospice South West Precious Lives Appeal 8 Walsingham Place Truro Cornwall TRI 2RP Tel: 01872 261166

Retail news...

Recycling to raise a smileRecycling is one of the easiest ways you can support CHSW. We can turn your old mobile phones, PDAs and printer cartridges into money that helps us continue the vital work we do. We work with Greensource Solutions who place recycling boxes in shops and offices across the South West and collect them free of charge.

If you would like a box in your office then please call us on 01275 866600 or email corporate@chsw.org.uk. Alternatively, you can drop your mobiles and printer cartridges for recycling into your local CHSW shop or hospice site.

Greensource Solutions are also raising more money for Children’s Hospice South West through

the sale of their environmentally friendly Printeco printer cartridges. £2 from every

cartridge sold goes directly to us.

As well as helping CHSW raise funds, you get rid of your clutter and recycling also helps the environment so everyone will be smiling!

New stores open in Honiton and BidefordWe are delighted to announce the opening of our new shops in Honiton and Bideford, bringing our total retail outlets to 11 across the region. These shops are a vital source of income for the charity and we are so grateful for the donations of good quality goods.

You never know what you might find in amongst a bag of donated goods and our shop managers are trained to look out for higher value items. If we have something particularly unique we may sell it on Ebay, the online auction site, to ensure it raises as much money as possible to support our families.

If you have some quality goods to donate, you can drop them into any of our stores, or Little Bridge House or Charlton Farm.

Gift Aid in storeMany of us know about Gift Aiding our monetary donations, but did you know we can claim Gift Aid on money raised from your donated goods too?

All you need to do is fill in a short form next time you donate anything to one of our shops and when we sell those goods, we can claim back even more money at no extra cost to you!

You will be given your very own Gift Aid card to keep in your purse, and everytime you donate just let us have the unique donor ID number. It’s as simple as that!