Partnership between UK’s Children’s Palliative Care Charity and Morrisons Raises Over £10.7 Million for Children’s Hospices Across the UK
Manchester, UK – On Wednesday 6 November, 2024, it was announced that the partnership between the UK’s children’s palliative care charity Together for Short Lives and Morrisons has successfully raised £10,722,514 for children’s hospices across the UK. This includes Francis House Children’s Hospice, which has received almost £120,000 from the partnership since it began in February 2022. The final amount is expected to reach £200,000.
Francis House Children’s Hospice, located in Didsbury, Manchester, provides support for over 600 families and children in the north west region who have life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.
The partnership between Together for Short Lives and Morrisons has been supported by 20 local Morrisons stores in the north west, with colleagues participating in various fundraising activities such as sponsored walks, abseils, zip wires, runs, tombolas, and in-store collections.
At a celebration event held at Francis House, David Ireland, chief executive at the hospice, expressed his gratitude to Morrisons for their support. He said, “My thanks to Morrisons on behalf of the children, young people and families of Francis House. Everything you did to raise money will help these families. They come through the doors and see this place as a holiday home – the one place where they are really supported and can trust.”
He added, “To have received £119,000 from the Together for Short Lives and Morrisons partnership was something I never imagined could happen. What you have done through your stores, your customers, friends and families has made such a difference to 600 local families. A big thank you from the families and a huge well done from the staff.”
The partnership has not only raised vital funds for children’s hospices, but has also created precious memories for over 6,000 family members through events and activities, reached 1,400 new families through community outreach work, and enabled hospices to purchase new equipment and provide thousands of hours of care.
Nick Carroll, CEO of Together for Short Lives, expressed his gratitude for the support of Morrisons colleagues and customers. He said, “The Morrisons partnership has allowed us to raise millions for children’s hospices across the UK, just like Francis House, which are a lifeline to seriously ill children and their families.”
Julie Williams, senior fundraising officer of Francis House, also thanked Morrisons for their partnership and friendship. She said, “Thank you Morrisons for a wonderful partnership, we not only worked together to help support Francis House but we also became friends. I have loved working with you all. The team and I have enjoyed coming to visit all the stores and bringing along our mascot Francis Mouse.”
In recognition of their outstanding fundraising efforts, Melina Johnson and Nicola Nugent from Morrisons Cheadle received a gold butterfly from Together for Short Lives for raising £27,000 – the highest amount from any store partnered with Francis House. Melina commented on their partnership with Francis House, saying, “The relationship between us and Julie and the team from Francis House made it easier to work together. It made it more personal to know that we were raising money for local families.”
For more information on Francis House and their work, visit https://www.francishouse.org.uk/. The partnership between Together for Short Lives and Morrisons was distributed by https://pressat.co.uk/.
