A COVENTRY hospice providing palliative and respite care for babies is calling for more small, regular monthly donations as major fundraising events are being cancelled due to coronavirus.
Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice in Coventry issued the plea as the covid-19 pandemic continues to cause uncertainty about the future of events, charity fundraising activities and mass gatherings across the UK.
Joan Stainsby, executive trustee for the hospice aid: “Over the years Zoë’s Place has built a fantastic network of supporters, some of whom organise events for us, others who donate regularly to our cause and even more who support our charity by helping us spread the word about the vital work we do.
“While events are an excellent way to help us generate usually large amounts of money, regular small donations are equally important as they help us to build a picture of the very minimum amount of money we can expect over the coming months which in turn helps us plan our services and any investments – for example new staff or facilities.
“Spreading the word about Zoë’s Place is also a fantastic way to support us as the more people who know about our charity, the work we do and the children we support, the more funds we will be able to raise and in turn the more families will be able to access our services.”
The charity provides palliative and respite care for babies and children up to five with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses. With children relying daily on the care and expertise of its staff, it is vital now more than ever for Zoë’s Place to keep the funds coming in.
While Zoë’s Place suggests £5, £15 or £30 a month, donors are also able to choose their own fixed amounts according to their circumstances. The charity revealed that £10 a month – amounting to £120 a year – will pay for four hours of care for one child.
Last year the charity announced it was struggling to attract the £4.2million a year it needs to run its hospices in Coventry, Liverpool and Middlesbrough and had reached “crisis point”.
Company director Peter Jarvis from Coventry was appointed the first national patron of the charity which opened its Exhall unit in 2011.
To find out more about the work of Zoë’s Place Baby Hospice, go to: https://www.zoes-place.org.uk/coventry/default.aspx
