40th Anniversary Appeal - The Sick Children's Trust

This year we’re celebrating 40 fantastic years of keeping families together

In 1982 our founders Professor James Malpas and Dr Jon Pritchard saw first-hand families sleeping on hospital floors or in chairs to be near their sick child as they had nowhere else to stay nearby. They began a two year appeal and raised enough money to buy our first ‘Home from Home’, Rainbow House. Fast forward 40 years and we now have ten ‘Homes from Home’ that have welcomed over 73,000 families.

We want to continue our founders’ vision and make sure families never have to sleep in hospital chairs, their cars, expensive hotels or drive long distances to be by their sick child’s hospital bedside again. So we’re appealing to you to help us raise £237,000 to support families in all 148 rooms of our ‘Homes from Home’ for 40 nights.

It now costs us approximately £40 to support a family for one night. Could you donate today to help us ensure we’re there for families who need us now and in years to come?

With very best wishes,

Jane Featherstone

CEO, The Sick Children’s Trust

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Why Our Support Matters to Families Like Carter’s

When Carter was admitted to hospital in 2019 at 20 days old, he couldn’t breathe and was diagnosed with a life-threatening respiratory virus. His mum Georgie told us what it meant to be able to stay at Acorn House, one of our Cambridge ‘Homes from Home’:

“I didn’t have to think or worry too much about how I’d cope as I was handed the keys to Acorn House. I was a bit hesitant at first as it still meant leaving Carter’s side and I didn’t want to be without my baby. However, as the nurses told me more and more about it, I felt comfortable to leave his room and see it for myself. When I arrived at Acorn House, I felt at home.

Having The Sick Children’s Trust’s ‘Home from Home’ really made the world of difference to me. No one wants to be away from their baby, no one. I could go back to Acorn House and have a hot dinner if that’s what I wanted, sterilise bottles and express. I was never alone as I was with others going through something similar and that helped me get through it all. Without that interaction in the ‘Home from Home’ the whole experience would’ve been a lot harder and I don’t think I would’ve coped.”