People have a rare chance to see behind the scenes at Huddersfield’s children’s hospice.
Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Brackenhall is opening its doors to give people, businesses and schools the chance to have a guided tour.
People will see the in-house cinema, hydrotherapy pool and sensory room and can find out more about the difference Forget Me Not makes to families with disabled or seriously ill children.
Forget Me Not manager Kirsty Goddard said: “Many people are surprised at what they find when they visit Russell House. It’s nothing like you might imagine a children’s hospice to be.
“That’s one of the reasons we wanted to open our doors so that people can see for themselves what it’s really like and how it’s developed over the 10 plus years since it was built.
“This is also a great opportunity to show the local community the difference their support makes to families facing or living with the loss of their child across West Yorkshire.
“We wouldn’t be here at all providing vital care and these amazing facilities if it wasn’t for local people, groups, schools and businesses getting involved to fundraise, volunteer and support us.”
Visitors will be able to see how Forget Me Not helps families with memory making, see what goes into a memory box and be able to take part in hand printing activities.
There will also be an opportunity to buy Forget Me Not branded items, find out more about upcoming events and challenges and meet long-term supporters, Team Sheila, who will be hosting their own stall and be able to answer any questions about what it’s like to be part of Forget Me Not’s supporter network.
Forget Me Not is holding two open days:
The first on Thursday, April 20, is from 10am to 4pm and is for businesses, schools and groups. Contact fundraising@forgetmenotchild.co.uk to arrange your visit and guided tour.
The second is on Saturday, April 22, and is for anyone. People can drop in at any time between 10am and 2pm with no need to book. Guided tours will take place at 11am and 1pm.
More details about both days can be found at www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk/open-day
Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice factfile:
· Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice supports babies and children with life-shortening conditions and their families across West Yorkshire.
· Forget Me Not has a wide range of services right from pregnancy, including nursing care, hydrotherapy, creative therapy, days out, memory making, end of life care, bereavement support and counselling, and much more, all available to the whole family.
· Forget Me Not was the first children’s hospice in Europe to employ a midwife.
· With just a fraction of the funds it needs coming from the Government the charity must raise over £4.5m in charitable donations each year to ensure it is able to give the children and families the support they need.
- Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.
