People / Bristol
Local children’s charity receives game-changing grant
Jessie May, a charity aimed at providing hospice care to terminally ill children across the South West, has received a grant of nearly £23,000 from the Morrisons Foundation, funding its ‘Making Fun Possible’ initiative.
The Bristol-based charity provides nursing care to children
The programme aims to take support for children with life-limiting conditions to the next level by organising special activity days for children and their families. People who find themselves in the same situation are given the opportunity to interact and support one another, whilst medical professionals are on hand to ensure the children’s needs are attended to at all times.
A recent Jessie May outing to Weston’s Grand Pier
“The events give the children in our care the opportunity to break free from the monotony of the daily care routine, to have independence from their normal carer and to meet other children,” says Julian Withers, head of fundraising at Jessie May.
is needed now More than ever
Families can expect fun days out, group activity across the local area and teenage experience days designed specifically for older children receiving aid from the charity.
Along with this donation of £22,700, the Morrisons Foundation previously donated £17,691 to the charity in 2016. As a result of the money, the first ever ’Making Fun Possible’ events were held. The charity are hoping that this money means they’ll be able to surpass the successes of the previous year and reach more children in need than ever before.
Jessie May is named after Jessica May Purrington, who was treated in Bristol but sadly died from severe Spinal Muscular Atrophy when she was only four-and-a-half months old. Her parents set up the charity with the aim of supporting others in a similar situation, and now the charity supports 129 terminally ill children in the South West. “We are now caring for more teenagers and work across a larger geographic area,” says Julian, “so grants like this are absolutely vital to ensuring we continue to provide the best support possible.”
Find more information and donate at www.jessiemay.org.uk.
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