Morrisons and Together for Short Lives Raise Millions for Children’s Hospices Across the UK
A partnership between the UK’s leading children’s palliative care charity, Together for Short Lives, and supermarket chain Morrisons has raised an incredible £10,722,514 for children’s hospices across the UK. After nearly three years of fundraising efforts, including support from 20 Morrisons stores in the north west, Francis House Children’s Hospice has received almost £120,000. This figure is expected to rise to £200,000 as the final donations are received.
Francis House Children’s Hospice, based in Didsbury, Manchester, provides vital support to over 600 families and children from across the north west who are living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. The partnership between Together for Short Lives and Morrisons has enabled the hospice to continue its important work, providing care and respite for these families.
Throughout the partnership, Morrisons colleagues have been actively involved in fundraising efforts, with activities such as sponsored walks, abseils, zip wires, runs, tombolas, games, and in-store collections. Community Champions from several Morrisons stores recently attended a celebration event at Francis House to mark the end of the partnership.
David Ireland, Chief Executive at Francis House, expressed his gratitude to Morrisons, saying: “My thanks to Morrisons on behalf of the children, young people, and families of Francis House. Your contributions will make a significant difference to these families who rely on our services. They see Francis House as a holiday home – a place where they can relax and trust that their needs will be taken care of. We are truly grateful for the support from Morrisons and Together for Short Lives.”
Thanks to the Morrisons partnership, Together for Short Lives has been able to create lasting memories for over 6,000 family members through events and activities. They have also reached more than 1,400 new families through their 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, 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. We are extremely grateful for the support of Morrisons colleagues and customers.”
Julie Williams, Senior Fundraising Officer at Francis House, added her thanks, saying: “Thank you, Morrisons, for a wonderful partnership. We not only worked together to support Francis House, but we also became friends. It has been a pleasure working with you all, and the team and I have enjoyed visiting all the stores and bringing along our mascot Francis Mouse.”
Melina Johnson and Nicola Nugent from Morrisons Cheadle were awarded a gold butterfly from Together for Short Lives for raising an incredible £27,000 – the highest amount from any store partnered with Francis House. Melina said: “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 the vital work they do, please visit https://www.francishouse.org.uk/.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.