South West Splash

Make a splash to help children like Riley

By getting in the water and taking on a challenge to raise vital funds, not only will you be making your own memories, you are enabling the children and young people that we support to make their own memories in the water, children like Riley. 

Children with stiff joints, muscle spasms or muscle wasting conditions can benefit from the therapeutic experience of water, as it can help improve their flexibility or joint range and provides the chance to improve their strength or endurance. 

More importantly exercises in water give a feeling of well-being and are fun. 

Riley makes a real splash whenever he visits Charlton Farm with his big sister Charlie. The hydrotherapy pool has given him a sense of freedom that other children his age might take for granted and is a fully accessible, hygienic and private space for the family to spend time making precious memories together. 

The pool has also been crucial in strengthening the bond between Riley and his sister Charlie. I love that this is something they can do together. It is the simple things in life, being together in that pool makes them both so happy.

Alongside our other care facilities, your support could help fund hydrotherapy sessions at our hospices. 

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What is hydrotherapy?

Hydrotherapy or aquatic physiotherapy is a therapy programme that is completed in a warm pool. This allows children to gain the benefits from the properties of the water and the expertise of the suitably qualified Physiotherapist. 

The warm water supports much of a child’s body weight allowing a freedom of movement especially when they may spend so much of their time in a wheelchair. 

At each hospice site there is a hydrotherapy pool that is not only fully accessible and hygienic but also a private space for families to spend time together. The sense of relaxation can be enhanced through the use of jet streams, a sound system and changing lights, although many of our families also use this space as a fun, playtime activity. 

Each pool has its own fully equipped wet room so the Care Team or parents can wash the children with ease. The wet room gives a lot of space for families to change at either end of their hydrotherapy session and means they do not need to return to their rooms in wet clothes. 

Read more about hydrotherapy

Fundraising 

Once signed up, we will send your South West Splash fundraising pack which has everything you need to know to reach your target of £30, including sponsor forms, ideas, helpful tips and more.  

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Set up your online fundraising page

It’s the easiest way to get sponsored. You can let everyone know what you’re doing  and why you’re taking part with the click of a few buttons!  

Set up your JustGiving page

Tips to make the most of your fundraising page

• Story time.

• • Adding a story to your page will really inspire people to donate. Let people know how much effort you are putting in or how much of an achievement it will be when you finish. You could be taking part to celebrate something or someone. Tell people why. Trust us, it works!  

• Get snapping
  • Nothing tells a story like a photo, so make sure to add a profile picture to your page and keep regularly adding new photos throughout your challenge. Keep it fresh and give people a reason to come back. Fundraisers with photos or videos on their page raise roughly 14% more per photo!  
• Share, share and share some more
  • Sharing your JustGiving page on social media or WhatsApp gains hugely increases your chance of getting donations. It's proven that the higher the number of social shares, the higher the fundraising total!
  • Being persistent is key, don’t be afraid to keep sharing your story on your social media and within your email groups. You could even add it to your email signature at work. Just because someone doesn’t donate first time, doesn’t mean they don’t want to or won’t the next time they see it. They may just have been busy, or waiting until payday and it slipped their mind. We’ve all been there. If you feel apprehensive about sharing the same thing, a perfect way is to add an update to your page about your challenge, or a new photo – then you have something new to share with it.  
• Say thanks
  • Remember to thank your donors regularly, you can do this via updates on your page, by emailing your donors or updating your social media pages. This great for your donors and will also get the word out to more people. Whilst thanking, you could ask if they could share within their networks.  
• The end is not the end
  • Around 20% of donations come in after an event has finished so make sure you are following up once you are dry, letting people know how you got on, how difficult it was for you and how much it means to Children’s Hospice South West.  

Stats provided by JustGiving.