Latest News
There’s always something going on in the world of WellChild. Here’s where we tell you about the latest developments – hot off the press. Whether it’s fundraising triumphs, scoops on our work with children and young people or news on any of our many events, this is where to find the latest information.
Cheltenham Film Festival supports WellChild (August 2010)
A Helping Hand for Zac (August 2010)
Mountain Rescue treat for children (July 2010)
New nurse scholarship launched (July 2010)
Thanks to Corsham School for supporting sick children (July 2010)
Reach out for Sick Children (July 2010)
Scouting For Girls Charity Chopper Challenge (June 2010)
A Helping Hand for Oliver (June 2010)
Costain runners hand over a big cheque (June 2010)
Well done to the JOGLE cycle team (June 2010)
Nessa joins volunteers in first street collection (June 2010)
Friends cycle the length of Britain to help WellChild (June 2010)
Cotswold Summer Fair is a big hit (June 2010)
Cheltenham Film Festival supports WellChild
We are delighted to announce that the new Cheltenham Film Festival has chosen to support WellChild. Cheltenham Film Festival is a great new addition to Cheltenham's renowned festival programme and runs over the first weekend in October 2010.
Cheltenham Film Festival will bring a diverse cinematic experience to visitors, staged within the splendour of some of the town's finest historic buildings. With something for everyone over the weekend - from the restored features of the BFI's archive, world cinema, family features and the innovations of local media graduates - the festival is destined for success and will raise valuable funds for WellChild over the weekend. For more information, visit www.cheltenhamfilmfestival.com
A Helping Hand for Zac
Volunteers from FleetMilne residential agency transformed the garden of five year old Zak Macefield from Sedgley in the latest WellChild Helping Hands project.
Zak has Kabuki Syndrome which means he needs 24 hour care and cannot walk or talk. It is hard for Zak to go to a park and play like other children so to have an accessible garden means a lot to him and his family.
The team from Birmingham based FleetMilne built a path to the top of Zak’s long garden adding raised flower beds for sensory plants and an area for a specialist swing.
Helping Hands project manager Lee Trunks said he was delighted with the way the project had gone and thanked the volunteers.
Nicola Fleet-Milne, Managing Director at FleetMilne said: “It was an incredibly rewarding experience and we’re delighted to have played a part in helping to make Zak’s life better. Zak’s a lovely little boy and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the English weather stays dry long enough for him to enjoy spending time in his new garden. We’ve always been very passionate about supporting local charities.”
Find out more about FleetMilne here.
Mountain Rescue treat for children
Some of the seriously ill children and their families who WellChild supports enjoyed a fantastic day out courtesy of Mountain Rescue England & Wales on Friday July 23.
Mountain Rescue England & Wales runs an annual day of adventure for WellChild and Centrepoint, a charity for homeless young people. Mountain Rescue England & Wales and Centrepoint have HRH Prince William as their Patron while WellChild has HRH Prince Harry as its Patron. The two Princes actively encourage their charities to work together to create new ideas and opportunities such as this day of adventure.
The Day of Adventure in and around the Ogwen Valley, Snowdonia gave an opportunity for all the participants to experience some mountaineering skills and join in with the work of the Mountain Rescue Team.
The WellChild children along with their brothers and sisters enjoyed a morning at The Towers Outdoor Pursuit Centre near Betws y Coed. They then took part in a search on the mountain with North East Wales Search and Rescue. The six young people from Centrepoint had a day on the mountains with climbing instructors from Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation.
Later in the afternoon, the participants gathered at Bryn Poeth (home of Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation) for tea and refreshments, to meet some VIP guests and for the presentation of awards.
WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer said: “The WellChild children and their families were thrilled to take part in this visit to the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue and they all had a great day. Many of the children we support have complex care needs and it is fantastic for them, and their families, to be able to take part in this kind of activity.”
Mountain Rescue England & Wales is the umbrella organisation for the 53 local teams that provide search and rescue services on a completely voluntary basis. A similar event, which was attended by Prince William himself, was organised in Patterdale last year and hosted by the Cumbrian teams.
New nurse scholarship launched
WellChild and the Association of British Paediatric Nurses (ABPN) are delighted to announce a joint £1000 nursing scholarship linked to improving the care of children and young people in the community setting.
Submissions, which should be received by 10 September 2010, are welcomed from ABPN members holding a RSCN/RN child qualification, or on a programme of study leading to RSCN/RN child qualification. Applicants should focus on an aspect of the nursing care for a child or young person with complex health care needs within their home and community setting and considering the whole family. Successful applicants will be required to publish an article in the ABPN Journal of Child Health Care and present a paper at a national conference.
Full details and how to apply can be found here.
This is the first award being made as part of this collaboration and is a means of furthering the shared vision of both organisations to improve the nursing care of children and young people with complex healthcare needs at home.
WellChild Director of Programmes, Linda Partridge said: “WellChild and the ABPN share a common aim of advancing the field of children’s and young people’s nurses. Through this joint nursing scholarship we are acknowledging that we need to support improvements in the care of children and young people with complex needs so that they can be at home.
"This has been the main focus of the RCN/WellChild Better at Home campaign which was launched last year and calls on Government to give all children and young people with long term health needs the chance to be cared for at home. We look forward to receiving high quality applications.”
Katrina McNamara-Goodger, from the ABPN commented: “ABPN are delighted to be working with WellChild to offer this scholarship to UK nurses working with children which gives us the chance to not only recognise excellence in practice, but also to promote the art and science of children and young people’s nursing through the sharing of experiences and practices in children’s and young people's nursing care in the community.”
A key objective of the Association of British Paediatric Nurses (ABPN) is to promote the art and science of children and young people’s nursing, and to provide opportunities for nurses to further their education, skills, and personal and professional development in caring for the needs of sick and well children and young people and their families.
Further information about the ABPN’s work can be found here. See further information on the Better at Home Campaign here.
Thanks to Corsham School for supporting sick children
Well done to the pupils from Year Nine of the Corsham School in Wiltshire who raised money for WellChild by covering a giant WellChild hand logo with coins.
The pupils made WellChild their year group charity and raised money for us at their fete at the end of last term.
Thanks to the pupils and teachers from the school for their hard work and support. You can read more about their fundraising efforts for WellChild on the Corsham School blog here.
Reach out for Sick Children
WellChild is this week launching its new Reach Out for Sick Children appeal to increase the number of WellChild Children’s Nurses who care for seriously ill children throughout the UK.
WellChild Children’s Nurses provide specialist support to enable children with complex health conditions to leave hospital and to be cared for at home. With increasing numbers of children living with long-term illness, this help is needed more and more.
WellChild has already built up a network of these nurses across the UK since the first was appointed in 2006 and they play a vital role in the care of many seriously ill children. The charity’s aim is for every seriously ill child or young person in the UK with a serious or long-term illness to have access to a WellChild Children’s Nurse should they need one.
The appeal has a new website www.wellchildnurseappeal.org where parents, children and some of our current nurses say why they believe that WellChild Children’s Nurses are such an essential part of healthcare for children today. The site also has contributions from our supporters, including celebrities, who say why they believe WellChild Children’s Nurses deserve as much public support as possible.
WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer said: “Every parent knows that caring for any sick child is hard. Caring for a child with a serious illness or life-threatening condition can be a physical, financial and emotional struggle each and every day – juggling the demands of family life and never knowing what the next day will bring.
“WellChild has spent more than 30 years reaching out for sick children. Now we are asking you to do the same as we try to double the number of WellChild Children’s Nurses caring for seriously ill children and young people across the UK right now.”
You can donate to Reach Out for Sick Children on the appeal website www.wellchildnurseappeal.org by sending a cheque to WellChild, 16 Royal Crescent, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3DA or by phone on 0845 458 8171.
£22 pays for a nurse for one hour, £175 pays for a nurse for a day.
Scouting For Girls Charity Chopper Challenge
Number one pop band Scouting for Girls will be swapping mics for bikes this summer when they take on the SFG Charity Chopper Challenge - riding from London to Brighton on Chopper bikes to raise money for WellChild.
The three members of Scouting for Girls, singer Roy Stride, bass player Greg Churchouse and drummer Peter Ellard will be riding more than sixty miles from London to Brighton on August 29 on their Raleigh Chopper bikes supported along the way by their fans.
Their tremendous effort will aid WellChild’s Reach Out for Sick Children nurse appeal which aims to pay for more WellChild children’s nurses across the UK who will help to get seriously ill children out of hospital and cared for at home with their families.
The band plan a picnic for fans en route and will have special limited edition merchandise on sale through their website here to raise more money to help sick children.
Roy Stride said of the ride: "We feel so strongly about supporting WellChild Nurses that we are getting on our bikes and doing something about it. We are riding from London to Brighton on Chopper bikes to raise money for WellChild’s Reach Out for Sick Children appeal.
"This ride is really going to hurt – Greg’s bike has only got one gear. But we are really happy to be able to support WellChild get more nurses. It’s a really great cause."
WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer said: “It’s fantastic that the lads are helping us out in this way. We wish them the best of luck with their marathon Chopper bike ride and they can be sure that the money they and their fans manage to raise will be put to good use in providing nursing care for seriously ill children and young people who really need their help.”
Scouting for Girls have a justgiving page for their Chopper Challenge donate here.
A Helping Hand for Oliver
A team of energetic volunteers from tool and equipment hire firm, Speedy have transformed the garden of four-year-old Oliver Mackintosh as part of a WellChild Helping Hands project.
Oliver from St Helens, Merseyside has a severe bleeding disorder called Haemophilia which causes many problems for the young boy. Part of his treatment involves receiving painful injections three times a week and Oliver is consistently supervised so that a bleed is immediately treated as soon as it has happened.
When Oliver has received a serious impact to a joint he experiences extreme pain and swelling and will be unable to use the joint for several days until the bleed has been controlled. Unfortunately this is a condition that Oliver will have to live with for the rest of his life.
Oliver and his family have recently moved and inherited a garden that was very overgrown and uncared for. The Helping Hands project team cleared the garden of all the debris and rubbish that was left by previous owners and created a clear and safe environment in which Oliver can play and spend time with his friends.
The team also completely removed a run down shed which was not used but was taking up a lot of ground space therefore creating a larger area for the family to enjoy.
Andrea Mackintosh, Oliver’s mum said: “Thank you so much. Words don’t come close to explain how fantastic this experience was.
"I simply cannot believe the transformation and how much more space we have, the garden is now a blank canvas for us to use. I know Oli will get many hours of enjoyment out of it now, when he was unable to even enter it safely before. ”
Costain runners hand over a big cheque
A group of three colleagues from the Costain Group have handed over a big cheque to WellChild which they raised by running this year’s London Marathon for us.
The cheque, for £8,620 was handed over to Karl Gwilliam from WellChild by Stephen Wells, who is Group Strategy and Business Development Director at Costain. Stephen tackled the 26 mile marathon course with fellow workers Caroline Harris and Graham Read.
Karl Gwilliam, said: "This Costain support is absolutely fantastic. WellChild depends on voluntary funding and the efforts of the Costain team will see WellChild expand its community children's nurse programme."
Stephen Wells said: “Graham and I 'adopted' a guy with muscular dystrophy at the five-mile mark; he said he was the only person with the disease entering the Marathon and we just went round with him.
"Graham and I are getting old and we did it in about 7 hours 20 minutes. Caroline clocked just over 6 hours. But the main thing is we raised the money and that was the driver for each of us."
Thanks from all at WellChild for the hard work put in by the Costain team. You can read more about them here.
Well done to the JOGLE cycle team
Congratulations from all at WellChild to the five friends who have successfully cycled the whole length of Britain to raise thousands of pounds for WellChild.
The five challenged themselves to cycle the length of Britain from John O'Groats to Lands End (JOGLE) in 9 days, covering 1,008 miles and spending more than eight hours in the sadle each day.
They set out on June 12 and, as you can see from our photo, they all made it to their destination.
They aim to raise an incredible £25,000 for WellChild and they have almost reached their target.
The five are Paul Landsman, Parminder Basran, Andi Tomkinson, Nick Freear and Mark Winter. Find out more about the team and sponsor them by visiting their website at rideacrossbritain2010.com
Nessa joins volunteers in first street collection
WellChild held its first ever street collection in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire on June 11 and raised over £300 for the charity’s work with seriously ill children.
WellChild’s mascot, a 12 foot tall pink nurse called Nessa, helped 20 volunteers with the collection and the total raised was £319. The money will be used towards WellChild’s work of care, support and research to help seriously ill children and their families in the UK.
The next collection planned for WellChild will take place at on Friday July 9 and Saturday July 10 at Sainsbury’s store in Barnett Way, Barnwood, Gloucester.
WellChild Volunteer Coordinator Cheryl Clapham said: “We were delighted by the response we got from the people of Cheltenham to our collection, they were very generous. We would also like to thank all our hard working volunteers who came out to help us.
“If you have an hour or two to spare to help a good cause and would like to volunteer at our supermarket collection on July 9 then please ring me on 0845 458 8171 or email volunteer@wellchild.org.uk"
Friends cycle the length of Britain to help WellChild
Five old University friends are taking part in a marathon cycle ride across the whole length of Britain to raise thousands of pounds for WellChild, the national charity for sick children.
The five have challenged themselves to cycle the length of Britain from John O'Groats to Lands End (JOGLE) in 9 days, covering 1,008 miles from 12 June 2010. This means that they will be cycling an average of 110 miles and spending over 8 hours in the saddle every day. They will burn over 40,000 calories and climb the equivalent of two Mount Everests in the 9 day period.
The five are Paul Landsman, Parminder Basran, Andi Tomkinson, Nick Freear and Mark Winter. They aim to raise an incredible £25,000 for WellChild. You can find out more about the team and sponsor them by visiting their website at rideacrossbritain2010.com
Their ride forms part of a larger event – the first ever mass JOGLE cycle, with 500 people taking part. It is being headed up by Double Olympic Gold medalist and TV personality James Cracknell who attempted to break the Tandem Cycle JOGLE World Record to raise awareness of the event.
WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer said: “We wish the guys well with their incredible adventure and we are very grateful they are raising so much money to help with our work for seriously ill children and their families.”
Paul Landsman said of the challenge: “We are five friends who went to university together and we have taken this on because we like a challenge and we wanted to do something like this before it was too late for us! We have always wanted to raise a lot of money for a good cause and we are of an age where we are focused on families and having children ourselves so we wanted to support a national charity for the welfare of children and WellChild is just that.
You can sponsor the team and find more about their challenge here
Cotswold Summer Fair is a big hit
WellChild’s annual Summer Fair was a big hit again this year with hundreds of visitors flocking through the gates.
The event, on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th June was held at the beautiful Bourton House at Bourton-on-the-Hill in the Cotswolds and the stunning backdrop of the award winning gardens were a delight for all those attending.
Stalls from all across the country offered gifts to tempt every taste from designer clothes and jewellery to delicious deli and natural skincare - everything needed for the new summer season.
“This is a fantastic annual event for WellChild” said Colin Dyer, WellChild’s Chief Executive. “Not only because it is an enjoyable day out in the county in which we are based but also because we always have such great feedback from all who attend.
"It’s a thoroughly great day in the Cotswolds for people in the knowledge that at the same time they are supporting a very worthwhile children’s charity.”
