Giving something back to the community is very important to the team at Andrew Porter Ltd.
Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley provides respite and end-of-life care to more than 400 children and young people across the North West. But while the care Derian House provides is free to the families it supports, its services cost £5 million a year to deliver, most of which must be paid for by fundraising initiatives and charity events.
This week is Children’s Hospice Week, which aims to highlight the important work children’s hospices do. Derian House only receives 12 per cent of its funding from the government so it relies heavily on support from the public and corporate partners like Andrew Porter Ltd.
As a business, we have supported Derian House since 2006 and donated more than £23,000 to the hospice so far. In October last year, we supported the launch of its Corporate Connect Club, which encourages businesses to form a lasting partnership with the hospice and set up regular monthly donations.
Tim Aspey, Andrew Porter’s managing director, said: “The Corporate Connect Club is such a great concept for businesses to get involved with. We are proud to support Derian House and the wonderful work they do for the children and their families, particularly in these challenging times.”
Other initiatives our team have been involved in have included tackling the Wigan 10K, sponsoring the hospice’s Winter Sparkle event and setting up drive-through donation stations at our sites in Adlington, Lancashire and Kendal, Cumbria. These drop-off points allowed people to conveniently donate unwanted items to be sold in Derian House’s network of charity shops which provide an important stream of revenue for the hospice.
Donate your unwanted furniture
We also offer to collect items for Derian House from our customers, whether they are moving house or putting items into storage. The hospice is always looking for high-quality undamaged donations of furniture, white goods and electronic items and our crews can take them directly to its charity shop warehouse to stock its stores.
Caroline Taylor, head of income, marketing and communications for Derian House said: “We are incredibly grateful to Andrew Porter Ltd for their ongoing support in helping us to continue to care for the children and young people who need us most. As well as regular monthly donations, the team at Andrew Porter Ltd have generously donated their time to help out with our events and have even taken on sporting challenges to raise vital funds for Derian.
“Regular donations make a huge difference to the hospice, providing a reliable source of income to meet the needs of our families and enabling us to plan for the future.”
Derian House has recently completed a £1 million refurbishment which means it now has some of the best facilities in the country for seriously ill children and their families. Improvements included a cinema, play zone, hydrotherapy pool and state-of-the-art sensory room.
During Children’s Hospice Week, the Duchess of Cambridge sent a message of support to children’s hospices across the UK.
She said: “I hope you will join me this Children’s Hospice Week in thanking the UK’s 54 children’s hospices and their incredible staff for the life-changing care they provide to children and families facing the unimaginable – helping them to make the most of every precious moment together.”
To find out more about Derian House and how you can help, visit its website here.
