£10,000 grant awarded by CBLC
Chippenham Borough Lands Charity (CBLC) has awarded Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) a grant of £10,000.
CHSW provides expert children’s hospice care for life-limited children and their families, including many families from Chippenham.
CHSW was established 30 years ago by Eddie Farwell and his late wife Jill. As parents of life-limited children themselves, their mission was to ensure that no family in the South West should have to travel for more than an hour and a half for children’s hospice services.
Now, 30 years later, the charity has three bases: Little Bridge House in North Devon, Charlton Farm in North Somerset, and Little Harbour in Cornwall.
Families in Chippenham are supported by the multidisciplinary care team based at Charlton Farm. Since the pandemic, CHSW has adapted its care model to ensure families are cared for wherever and however they need it – either by way of short stays at Charlton Farm or in their own homes. The care team have also adopted a virtual service – providing interactive sessions by Zoom or simply touching base with families with regular phone calls.
Charlton Farm also supports bereaved families from the area who benefit from the relationship maintained with the care team and participate in ‘remembering days’ as part of their bereavement journey.
Heidi Roberts, Area Fundraiser at CHSW, said: “We currently care for many families – both bereaved and current – in the Chippenham area and the grant awarded by CBLC will make a huge difference to the care we are able to provide to them now and in the future.
“With such a range of services, therapies and specialist medical care, it costs over £11million each year to run our three hospices and the provision of these services is provided almost entirely by voluntary contributions, which is why the support of the local community and organisations such as CBLC is so important.”
Chippenham Borough Lands Charity is a grant making charity helping the people of Chippenham. It supports local individuals and organisations in welfare, education, arts and community projects.
Phil Tansley, CEO of Chippenham Borough Lands Charity, said: "We are delighted to be providing funding towards the vital support and fantastic care that Children’s Hospice South West gives to Chippenham children and their families.”