Spring and Summer Newsletter 2023

Your news
SPRING INTO SUMMER 2023

Inside...
Page 2 Polly, Peaches and
Henry love staying
at Little Bridge House
Page 4 Meet our amazing
Young Ambassadors
Page 6 The Dickenson Family
take part in BBC
Children in Need
Page 7 How you can
get involved
Page 8 Paying it forward
Page 9 Rob raises a smile
with his lottery win
Page 10 Leave a gift of smiles
for the future
Page 10 FUN-raising
this summer Our hospices are the most joyful places to be, full of laughter and
fun. I love being able to support families when they need it most
and walk alongside them during their palliative care journey.
Children’s Hospice South West Care Team member

A warm welcome from Nurse Milly
Hello, and welcome to your latest newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading all the
stories from across Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).
My name is Milly, and I can honestly
say I found my calling as a nurse when
I started working at Little Harbour
a few years ago. Being able to spend
quality time understanding a child’s
whole condition and care needs
with the support of their families
and colleagues has been so special.
We hold their emotional, sensory
and psychosocial needs as highly as
their clinical needs.
Here at CHSW, we really are a
family; we care for and support one
another. There is such an awareness
of the gravity of our role not only to
the children and young people we
care for but to their
siblings, mums, dads
and wider family
members too.
We are a team
that genuinely
cares for one another and all the
families we look after.
It’s an incredibly special charity to be
a part of, and it’s an honour to be a
part of our families’ lives, to care for
their children and support them in
every way we can. And that honour
is thanks to you! You are also part of
this wonderful CHSW family through
your kindness and generosity!
Together, we really do make the
most of short and precious lives.
Milly
CHSW Care Team Leader
and Paediatric Nurse
If you want to join our team and help make a
difference every single day, you can sign up for job
alerts and get our latest vacancies sent straight to
your inbox. Visit www.chsw.org.uk/jobs
Scan for
vacancies
Page 1

Polly, Peaches and Henry love
staying at Little Bridge House
Page 2
You can have the best
family, the best friends,
the best support
network from the NHS
but Little Bridge House
just does something
that you just can’t
describe. It’s literally
saved my soul.
Peaches, Polly’s mum
When mum of 2, Peaches, was referred to Little Bridge House by a Community
Nurse in January 2022, she said she hadn’t heard much about the hospice
before, and the thought of going felt quite daunting. She was exhausted caring
for Henry, age 4, and his 2 year old sister Polly who has a large hole in her heart
and is likely to need open-heart surgery before her next birthday.
The thought of stepping out of routine and packing up lots of medical equipment
to travel just a few short miles from her home to the hospice in North Devon
was overwhelming. Peaches explains,
“It was so much for me to think about on top of everything else, so I
delayed coming to stay for a long time until I was so exhausted that
I didn't actually have any choice. I think I actually rang in tears and
said, ‘please, I need to come and stay with you, I need rescuing.”
Within 10 minutes of stepping through the doors at Little Bridge House, a
blanket of support was wrapped around the family. Henry grabbed a toy
motorbike and started zooming up and down the corridors with a little friend
he’d made from another visiting family. One of the hospice nurses took Polly
for a bath while Peaches was able to settle in with a cup of warm tea.
It was during a 12 week scan that Peaches was told that Polly had an exomphalos,
a type of abdominal wall defect that meant her liver, bowel and part of her
stomach had all formed on the outside of her body contained within a sack.
Because of her exomphalos, Polly’s heart and lungs weren’t able to form properly.

Peaches said that Polly’s open-heart surgery was her final hurdle,
and that the blended diet she has introduced thanks to the team
at Little Bridge House had stabilised Polly’s blood sugars and
was helping to strengthen her body for what’s to come.
“I just didn’t know where to start and Polly has gone
from being sick with every feed from birth to not
being sick at all. Little Bridge House gave Polly
the best medicine she’s ever had - food!”
Emotionally, visits to Little Bridge House have helped
the family to step away from the demands of caring
and make special memories together, including
meeting Father Christmas at the hospice.
“Henry’s obsessed with the soft play and Polly
loves the Wendy house with the kitchen. For
me, I get a really lovely content feeling of
just being a mummy, and I think the children
can feel I'm so relaxed in that environment.”
Peaches and Matthew (Polly and Henry’s daddy)
are no longer together but co-parent well
and have supported each other throughout
Polly’s whole journey. Matthew said he was
also grateful for the care and support they
receive, “Polly just wouldn’t be where she
is today without Little Bridge House.”
Please make a donation today to help more families like Polly’s www.chsw.org.uk/donate
Scan to
donate
Page 3

Meet our amazing Young Ambassadors
We have year 12 and 13 students doing ambassador work from
supporting events, giving presentations, running their own events
and more. We’ve also kept the knowledge and experience of
our Young Ambassadors who have gone to University because
they have enjoyed being an ambassador so much, they have
continued their work and support remotely via email and Zoom
until they are home in the holidays.
Steve, CHSW Volunteer for more than 17 years
Our Young Ambassador Scheme
was born over a chat and a
coffee with our long-standing
volunteer Steve.
Steve has worked tirelessly
with local schools and colleges
over the years to grow the
Young Ambassador group from
an initial team of 4 teenagers to
a whopping team of 40!
Page 4

who are making their mark on the world of fundraising
Amy describes the skills she has
gained from being an ambassador.
“Being a Young Ambassador
has given me the confidence
to speak publicly. This has
allowed me to listen, network
and talk with other people,
whether they are a member of
the CHSW Team or the public,
about the charity. Giving
back and connecting to my
community and to people who
have had tough experiences
is truly fulfilling and has greatly
impacted my life.”
Abi explains how inspired she is by
CHSW’s mission to make the most
of short and precious lives.
“CHSW is the perfect charity to
be involved in because of the
wonderful things it does and
the incredible, loveliest people
who work for the charity.”
Evie spoke about the fundraising
events the Young Ambassadors
have been able to arrange.
“We recently organised a music
concert at our school and
raised £1,500! By holding this
event, we were able to create
such an amazing atmosphere,
have fun and raise money.”
Oliver loves how varied the role is.
“We have the opportunity to
get involved in such a wide
range of events. The first
event I got involved in was
assisting at a local Christmas
market handing out flyers.
I enjoyed the communal spirit
within the group.”
Find out more! Contact your Area Fundraiser
or visit www.chsw.org.uk/youngambassador
Megan has been part of the
group since 2019 and is still
supporting the project while at
University. She says that being
a Young Ambassador has had a
huge impact on her life.
“Being a Young Ambassador
has helped me find myself;
not only in thinking about
my future career but in
fundamental things about
myself, like what I’m
passionate about and
what drives me. I genuinely
believe I would not be who
or where I am today without
it. I will forever be grateful
for the opportunities CHSW
has given me.”
Scan for
more info
Page 5

The Dickenson family take part in BBC Children in Need
The Dickenson family joined Scott Mills on his Great Scott
Tread Mills Challenge live on Zoe Ball’s breakfast show!
While brothers Rufus and Arthur jumped on the
treadmills, older brother Isaac, mum Sam and dad
James spoke about the support they have all
received at Little Harbour in St Austell.
Sam and James’ youngest son Seth lost
his battle with a brain tumour,
aged 7. The money raised
by BBC Children in
Need helps to fund
Suzanne, a Sibling
Support Worker
at Little Harbour,
who has been a
huge support
to Isaac and
his brothers.
Page 6
Did someone say Spring clean?
Please put your preloved spring clean finds to good use by donating them to one of our
charity shops! Find your nearest CHSW shop by visiting www.chsw.org.uk/shopping
Scan to
find your
local shop

Become a volunteer!
Join our incredible
volunteers who give
their time in our shops.
You could be creating
window displays, accepting
donations and meeting our wonderful
supporters. If you’d like to join our
volunteers, please speak to a member
of our team at your local CHSW shop.
Take part in one of our CHSW
events! We have a calendar
full of events to suit everyone,
from exhilarating skydives to
hosting a cream tea! To check
out our event finder and see
what you’d like to take part in
visit www.chsw.org.uk/events
Looking for your next running
challenge? Our race calendar is
full of 10ks through to marathons.
Why not sign up for our Running
enewsletter and keep up to date with
our latest news and events.
How you
can get
involved!
Host your own fundraiser! From quiz
nights and cake sales to craft fayres
and head shaves, the
world is your oyster
when it comes to
fundraising!
Make new friends! Our fabulous
Friends Groups arrange local
fundraising events, host collections,
maintain collection boxes, and give
talks on behalf of the charity. Join
an existing group or start your own!
Keen to find out more? Please get in touch with your local Area Fundraiser, details can be found on the back page
Page 7

Paying it forward
We have a lovely story that we wanted to share
with you. Levi left £5 in a shopping trolley with
a note, as his way of paying his respects to the
late Queen Elizabeth II. That £5 was found by
a pensioner who then kindly paid it forward
by donating it to us! Levi, wherever you are,
thank you for warming our hearts with your
goodness and making a difference! We would
love to say thank you in person if you ever want to get in touch.
Page 8
I would like to give you some money from my money box
to help buy something you may need. My tribute to our late
Queen Elizabeth II who will be forever remembered for
her 70 years of outstanding service.
Cavanna Homes has announced
that they will continue to fundraise
for CHSW, keeping us as their
Charity of the Year until the end
of 2023. Cavanna has already raised
an astonishing £60,000 since 2019!
Thank you to all our charity partners
for your continued support.
A single play is just
£1 per week and you
could win 1 of 15 prizes
£1,000
£100
2 x £25, 5 x £10, 5 x £15
B nus
rollover!
Can rollover to
£10,000

Rob raises a smile with his lottery win
Rob, a recent £1,000 winner, shares how his lottery win means so much more
to him and his family.
What a lovely surprise to hear about my win! I’ve been a supporter
of the hospice since 1994, when my brother-in-law and I walked the
coast path from Plymouth to Fremington, via Land’s End to raise
money for the building of Little Bridge House. Our flag and map
case are in the time box buried under the chapel there.
I now have a disabled granddaughter, Grace, and she has
had a few visits to Little Harbour both with her parents, and
on her own to give them some well-earned respite. She loves
it there, having non-stop attention and despite her condition,
she is probably the happiest and the most content person
I know, with a big beaming smile never far from her face.
Rob, CHSW Lottery winner
Much to our surprise, Rob kindly donated some of his winnings back to CHSW to help us
continue providing care and support, knowing it would help families like his. Not only that,
Rob and his daughter also took on the Coast to Coast challenge last summer to raise even
more funds to support families! Thank you, Rob, for your unwavering support and to all of
our lottery players for raising smiles.
Play t day! www.chsw.org.uk/lottery sign up as a regular player or buy play chances
Scan for
a chance
to win big
Page 9

Leave a gift of smiles for the future
A gift for
the future
After you have remembered your family and friends, please
consider supporting children and young people living with
life-limiting conditions and their families by leaving a gift
in your Will to Children’s Hospice South West.
We need to raise more than £11 million each year to
support children, young people and families at each of
our hospices. A gift in your Will, no matter how large or
small, will help make the most of short and precious lives
now and in the future. Thank you for thinking of us.
www.chsw.org.uk
enquiries@chsw.org.uk
Redlands Road, Fremington, Barnstaple,
Devon EX31 2PZ 01271 325 270
FUN-raising this summer!
Charlton Drive, Wraxall, North Somerset
BS48 1PE 01275 866 600
Page 10
Join us on a Bear Hunt! A family-friendly
sculpture trail, art competition and auction!
Open Gardens throughout the South West
South West Splash could be any challenge
or fun activity in the water
Rainbow Run is the brightest fun run
for everyone on Saturday 17 June!
Visit www.chsw.org.uk/events to find out more
Porthpean Road, Porthpean, St Austell,
Cornwall PL26 6AZ 01726 871 800