Leading developer Barratt Homes donates £13,000 to Francis House Children's Hospice

“The funds will go a long way to support our work here at Francis House. It will help us to bring invaluable comfort, support and expert care."

Leading developer Barratt Homes has donated £13,000 to Francis House Children’s Hospice, which helps care for children and young adults with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition.

The charity, which is based in Manchester, supports approximately 2,000 people at any one time with respite care, homecare, sibling support, end of life care and emotional and bereavement support.

The funding will go towards the expansion of the Emotional Support and Bereavement service and the hospice’s Homecare services.

Rachel Astill, Fundraising Officer at Francis House, said: “We were incredibly grateful to receive the excellent donation of £13,000 from Barratt Homes Manchester. We’d like to thank them for the continued support; it means more than ever in these difficult times.

“The funds will go a long way to support our work here at Francis House. It will help us to bring invaluable comfort, support and expert care to families facing unimaginable challenges.”

Francis House needs to raise £4.7 million a year to keep its services running, unfortunately, the essential charity has incurred additional costs including those for specialist equipment and training to protect staff as they continue to carry out duties in the pandemic.

The charity’s priority is to enable children, teenagers and young adults to live life to the full, often helping to fulfil dreams.

Neil Goodwin, Managing Director at Barratt Homes Manchester, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Francis House for all of their hard work during this difficult time and in the future.

“The charity is making a real difference to people’s lives and we can’t wait to see how they progress in the years to come.”

From its site in Didsbury, Francis House is a lifeline to more than 500 families across the Greater Manchester area including Stockport, Oldham, Bury, Rochdale, Manchester, Salford and Trafford.

Rachel added: “This last year has been especially difficult for these families; caring for a very vulnerable child in the midst of a pandemic has intensified their anxiety and increased their need for support.

“Although our income has suffered, Francis House has managed to continue supporting families throughout the pandemic by providing emergency respite stays, homecare visits and telephone support. It is thanks to great supporters like Barratt Homes that we can afford to keep these services going.”

To find out more about Francis House please visit: www.francishouse.org.uk

For more information about Barratt Homes please visit www.barratthomes.co.uk