As a charity we’ve been known as The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice since we began in 1999 and, until a couple of years ago, we only looked after children up to the age of 19 so being called a “children’s” hospice suited us fine.
Two years ago we announced that we would no longer discharge our young adults when they reached 19. Of course, this was wonderful news for all our families, but it also meant that The Donna Louise was no longer just for children. With the children who come to The Donna Louise growing up into young adults, The Donna Louise brand had to grow up too.
At our recent AGM we asked one of our young ladies, 20 year old Charlotte, to talk a little about her experience of using The Donna Louise. After reducing about 80% of the audience to tears - she summed it up beautifully, when she said “The Donna Louise is ‘Just There’.”
Two innocuous, simple little words that can mean so much – “JUST THERE”
That is exactly what we aim to be – “JUST THERE” for children, young people and families to support them in any way we can.
See how they grow
The premise for The Donna Louise Enterprise Challenge was simple, each team taking part was given £50, and they had until the end of June to turn it into as much money as they could to support the children and families at the hospice. A record-breaking 42 teams took up the challenge and have raised a phenomenal £15,000 with more still coming in.
There was so much fabulous fundraising; judges had a very tough time picking the winners. Prizes were awarded to the winning teams at a special celebration event at the hospice on Thursday 20th July:
Do you fancy taking your taste-buds on a journey of discovery? If you do, The Donna Louise’s LOVE Gin night is the event for you!
In association with our friends at Burton Albion FC, our next LOVE Gin night will be held at The Pirelli Stadium, Burton, on Friday 20th October from 7.30pm.
This year’s Annual Ball, held on Friday 9 June at The Moat House Hotel, Hanley, has raised a whopping £47,000 for the children and young adults who use The Donna Louise.
The night was a huge success and full of fun and laughter, hosted by Jonathan Wilkes. There was plenty of singing and dancing, thanks to Jonny and his band, as well as acrobats, a tombola, auctions and a good old-fashioned game of heads and tails.
Pupils, staff and Governors at Endon Hall Primary School have raised a massive £3651 for The Donna Louise in memory of former pupil Matthew Hollinshead who died earlier this year.
The aim of the sponsored “Row and Run-a-thon” was to row and run the distance from the school in Endon to The Donna Louise Hospice, Trentham, and then back again in a day – a total distance of around 20 miles.
SDL Group is a business that cares passionately about their employees. They are committed to providing a great place to work where people can be the best that they can be. Central to their values is a Corporate Social Responsibility agenda that engages employees and raises vital funds for charity.
Read more: SDL Group are a #ONEINAMILLION supporter of The Donna Louise
We are very lucky at The Donna Louise to have so many wonderful supporters who do amazing things to help our children, young adults and families. Let us introduce you to one of them...
