A baby hospice earmarked for Coventry has received a fundraising boost, after receiving the support of a large law-firm.
Wright Hassall, which employs over 200 people, has made Zöe’s Place Baby Hospice its ‘charity of the year’.
The charity takes its name from the Greek translation of ‘Zoe’ – which means ‘gift of life’ - and offers short-term palliative respite and terminal care for babies and young children.
It will build its third UK hospice in Ash Green, Coventry by Spring 2009. The project will cost £650,000 and will help families across the Midlands.
Vicki Partridge, of Zöe's Place Baby Hospice, said: “It’s fantastic for us to be linked with a large local firm like Wright Hassall because it will provide much-needed funds and increase local awareness of our cause.
“The company has a strong fundraising team and has offered other charities great support in the past and so we are hoping the messages about what we do will spread.
“We are hoping to help around 35 families from around the region every year to begin with. When you have a child with extreme special needs or with a serious illness, the simple tasks such as going shopping or visiting family can become extremely difficult so we offer short-term care. It may be a few hours, it may be a couple of days – but we’re here to help.
“There are also times when a family with a terminally ill child would prefer a more comforting environment than a hospital and we want to be there to support people through their difficult times.”
Wright Hassall, of Leamington Spa, raised £6,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2007 – a record for the firm – and legal secretary Rebecca Mushing, who plays a key role in fundraising, says staff at the Olympus Avenue firm will aim to go one better.
She said: “There is a real willingness from the staff here to get behind our charity of the year. Zöe’s Place is in the early stages of development in Coventry but when it is finished, the help it will offer to families across the Midlands will be fantastic. The charity already runs two successful hospices in Liverpool and Middlesborough and I’m sure that will be the case here too.
“We are hoping to raise both Zöe’s Place profile and its funds. There’s a great deal of enthusiasm here to do our best and we’re all aiming to equal – if not better – last year’s total.”
For more information on Zoes Place visit www.zoes-place.org.uk.
