It might be hard to imagine how a few pennies can turn into hours of care for children with life-limiting illnesses. But donations made by customers of Domino’s Pizza in Northern Ireland have done just that.
By choosing to round up their order and donate the change to charity, customers have raised £3000 for Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice since November 2011. This is the equivalent of 100 hours of specialist nursing care provided at a family’s home or the hospice’s day centre.
For many families of children with complex medical needs, this service is a saviour. For example, caring for ten-year-old Darcy, who was born with a rare and incurable condition and can’t speak, walk, see or hear fully, can be very demanding and stressful for her family. The constant care that Darcy needs is mostly provided by her family at home but she enjoys regular stays at the Children’s Hospice, which gives a respite from the strain of 24 hour care.
Darcy’s mum Janet Coyle says the hospice is a lifeline for her.
“It keeps normality going and you know they are going to look after her so well. She always comes back very chilled out and happy,” she says.
An hour of hospice care is the most valuable gift you can give to a child with a life-limited illness and their families. The hospice is the only children’s hospice in Northern Ireland that provides this much needed help and support at no cost to the families, plus a 24/7 on call service. In one year the hospice supports around 250 families like Darcy’s but they can only do this with the help of public donations, including those made by customers of Domino’s Pizza in Northern Ireland.
As well as helping to provide hours of nursing care, the pennies you donate could help cover the £5 it costs for one day’s clinical supplies for Darcy or the £350 it costs to provide a nursery nurse for one week.
To find out more about the value of public donations like these to the hospice click here to watch a short film from Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.