Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge has sent a message of support to celebrate and mark Children’s Hospice Week. Children’s Hospice Week (17-23 June) is organised by Together for Short Lives and is the only week in the year dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the lifeline children’s hospice services across the UK, and the thousands of seriously ill children and young people they support.
The theme of Children’s Hospice Week is ‘Moments that Matter’, shining a light on children’s hospice and palliative care services that help families create special memories and important moments in their lives together. By showcasing the moments that matter the campaign hopes to challenge the misconception children’s hospice services are scary, but services that bring families together to build memories, provide the very best care and support, and to create moments that matter.
Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge, as Royal Patron of EACH, has seen first-hand that children’s hospices provide vital sanctuaries for those experiencing the very toughest of times. In her personal message, The Duchess hopes that others will join her in thanking children’s hospices for the lifeline care they provide.
You can read the personal message of support here.
Children’s hospices provide vital sanctuaries for those experiencing the very toughest of times. They help families and carers build life long memories that are poignant, happy and often filled with laughter.
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge
The Duchess’s personal message says:
“Children’s hospices provide vital sanctuaries for those experiencing the very toughest of times. They help families and carers build life long memories that are poignant, happy and often filled with laughter.
Whether through specialist play aimed at deepening relationships between children and their families, or through art and music therapy that helps young people express themselves and release their thoughts and feelings – the work of organisations like the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices can set a truly heart-warming example to us all.
They provide a lifeline to children and families for however long support is needed and I hope that others join me in thanking them as we shine a light on their work during Children’s Hospice Week.
The theme this year is ‘Moments that Matter’. It aims to make the most of the very precious time that those using hospice services have. Throughout the week we will hear amazing stories from families facing the toughest of futures. I hope that they will inspire each and every one of us to similarly make the most of the time we have with our own families, by ensuring every moment matters and that we create memories that last forever.”
The Duchess, as Royal Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), has generously given her support to Children’s Hospice Week since 2013. The impact over many years has been transformational, helping to raise awareness of the needs of seriously ill children and families and to show why they need specialist support.
Welcoming The Duchess of Cambridge’s message of support, Andy Fletcher, CEO for Together for Short Lives said:
“We are thrilled that Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge has sent a personal message of support for Children’s Hospice Week 2019, shining a light on the vital role hospices play in building life-long memories for children, young people and families. The Duchess’s words, and her support over many years, help to challenge perceptions about children’s hospices and to show they are happy and inspiring services that offer a lifeline to families through the very toughest of times.”
Graham Butland, EACH CEO said:
“We know and the families we’ve supported know just how much of a positive difference children’s hospices can make, providing truly memorable moments of fun and inspiration, but there’s still a clear gap in the knowledge of many others. We often hear from families how they expected our hospices to be sad and dark places. That’s simply not the case, as Her Royal Highness knows from her visits to us, and it’s fantastic to have her continued support in raising awareness. Children’s Hospice Week is always a really important time of year for us and all children’s hospices across the UK, and I hope people will once again join The Duchess in championing the role they have to play.”
