Care at Christmas: Express & Star launches appeal in aid of Acorns Children’s Hospice

Every day at Acorns Children’s Hospice we have the privilege of providing our highly specialist care to hundreds of children and families across our region.

It is not an understatement to say that none of this would be possible without our local community – generous people like you, who are the lifeblood of our charity.

Put simply, without you Acorns would not exist. Your support means families caring for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions across the Black Country and the West Midlands can have access to the skilled nurses, symptom management, rehabilitative respite, end-of-life care and emotional support they deserve.

It means parents, carers, children and their siblings can find a lifeline when they need it most. It means we are able to say ‘yes’ to families in crisis when others can’t.

Every bake sale and workplace fundraiser you hold, charity event you sign up to, cash gift you give, donation and purchase you make in our shops; each act of kindness enables us to give specialist, compassionate, and life-changing care that supports families during their darkest hours.

Throughout our 36-year history we’ve been honoured to receive support from the Express & Star and its readers. Time and time again, the region’s greatest newspaper has stood with us – shining a light on the care we provide and giving a voice to the children and families we support. 

You have shared our joys and celebrated our successes and when we’ve needed it most, you have been beside us, without fail, and with all the compassion and heart that never ceases to amaze us.

We’re honoured to be a beneficiary of the Express & Star’s ‘Care at Christmas’ campaign. It is a wonderful example of how when a community comes together to support its own, it shows itself at its very best.

This show of support is especially moving as we await an update from Health Secretary Wes Streeting on the future of the Children’s Hospice Grant – a lifeline for hospices like ours.

Without long-term, reliable statutory funding many children’s hospices across the country face an uncertain future, leaving families at risk of losing the care they depend on.

At Acorns this vital source of income is worth £2.2 million every year. We hope the soon-to-be-announced package of support for hospices not only maintains existing funding levels, but also comes with a five-year commitment, increasing in line with inflation, and will include assistance to offset the proposed increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions.

For Acorns, this equates to £400,000 per year, which is the equivalent of eight full-time specialist palliative nurses. Despite this uncertainty, the one thing we know we can always count on is the support of our local community. 

It costs £35,000 every day to keep our three hospices open and run our services. Two-thirds of this amount comes from your generous donations and fundraising.

We can’t do it without you.

Donate to the Express & Star’s ‘Care at Christmas’ campaign today and give the gift of Acorns vital care and support. You can help ensure no family caring for a seriously ill child in our region faces this unimaginable journey alone, not just at Christmastime but all year round.

These remarkable children and their families deserve nothing less.

How to Give: acorns.org.uk/Star-Appeal