Kind South Yorkshire shoppers have given a welcome boost to families who need the support of the local children’s hospice, Bluebell Wood.
More than 990 bags of unwanted clothes, shoes and toys were donated by customers at Lakeside Village in Doncaster during 2019, as part of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice’s Bag it for Bluebell scheme.
Each bag raises an average of £15, equating to £14,910 in funding for the hospice, which is enough to pay for a specialist nurse for 94 days.
Di Rodgers, centre manager at Lakeside Village, said: “The support of our customers has been amazing for Bluebell Wood.
“Their donations and generosity will make a real difference to families in the region.
“We have beat our 2018 collections by 11% bagging a whopping 994 bags which is fantastic and means that even more money has been raised for the charity.
“Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice is a vital resource for the region, offering care to children and young adults whose lives are too short; and their families. We have supported the work of the hospice for many years as a collection point for their Bag It for Bluebell scheme and would like to thank our loyal customers for their overwhelming generosity in 2019.”
Bluebell Wood currently supports around 290 families, both in their own homes and at the hospice in North Anston. This support includes end-of-life care, short breaks, music therapy, counselling, sibling support, home visits and more.
All of its services are completely free, and its hospice – surrounded by six-and-a-half acres of land – houses eight bedrooms and accommodation for family members, as well as a lounge area, dining room, sensory room, cinema room and more.
Alison Firth, Retail Area Manager for Bluebell Wood, said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to each and every shopper at Lakeside Village who has supported our Bag it for Bluebell scheme this year.
“At Bluebell Wood, every day is about making special memories that families we support can treasure, whether they have days, weeks, or more together.
“Only around 9% of our funding comes from government sources so we simply wouldn’t be able to help local families when they need us the most without our incredible supporters – like the shoppers at Lakeside village.
“The pre-loved items that customers have kindly donated are sold in our shops and help to raise the £4.8 million we need to keep our doors open each year. We really couldn’t do it without fantastic organisations like Lakeside Village.”
Bags are collected the last Saturday of every month throughout the year and the centre is looking forward to receiving donations throughout 2020.
To find out how you can help the hospice make more memories for the 290 children Bluebell Wood cares for, both in the community and at their hospice, please visit www.bluebellwood.org.
For more information, contact Robert Langley, Communications Officer at Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice on (t) 01909 517360, (f) 0845 108 1580 (e) robert.langley@bluebellwood.org
- At Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, we care for children and young adults with life-shortening and life-threatening conditions. We are currently supporting over 300 families, both in our North Anston hospice and in family homes.
- Our support services are wide-ranging and bespoke to each family; including end-of-life treatment and care, music therapy, counselling, sibling support groups, home visits and much, much more.
- It costs £4.8m to keep our doors open for families across South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire, North Nottinghamshire and parts of North Lincolnshire, which is £13,325 each day. We receive around 9% of our funding from government sources.