Naomi House - Wessex Charity of the Year 2009!

2009 winners!

Congratulations to everyone at Naomi House who received theWessex Charity of the Year Award yesterday

On Thursday 26th February the work of Naomi House was recognised at the Wessex Charity of the Year Awards, which took place at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. We were presented with the prestigious title of Wessex Charity of the Year, during an evening that celebrated the enormous contributions made by charities across the region.

Debbie Loveridge, Chair of the Basingstoke Fundraising Committee, nominated us for the award a little while ago, and we heard a just before Christmas that we had been shortlisted.

The judging panel were particularly impressed with our strong sense of identity, clear leadership, excellent facilities and our clear sense of purpose.

Professor Khalid Aziz, Chairman of Naomi House, said, “I would like to congratulate everyone who makes Naomi House the special place it is. Our staff, volunteers and supporters have all played a vital part in our achievement and we are all proud of the recognition we have received. This is a fantastic accomplishment, and one that we can take forward as we plan the opening of jacksplace later in the year. Our professionalism and experience provides the families who visit with support that makes a real difference to their lives, and that’s what this award endorses.

‘Naomi House has been the Children’s Hospice for the Wessex region for 11 years, providing care and support to families from across the area. We very much appreciate the support we receive from people in the county. Jane tabor and her team of fundraisers, are working with people throughout the country to raise the funds we need to continue providing this much needed support to families”, he continued.
Jane was delighted with the award, and said, “Recognition for Naomi House is very important because it informs families about the quality of care that is provided by Naomi House. People who get involved in fundraising for the hospice know that their support is helping to provide essential services, like respite, that often is not available elsewhere. Fundraising for the hospice can be a huge amount of fun, and extremely rewarding. I would encourage people to become part of the amazing Naomi House family and help to give the families of life-limited children a much needed break”.

For information about fundraising for Naomi House please call our fundraising office on 01962 843 513.

For more information please contact Tina Lillington, Communications Manager at Naomi House.

Ends

Notes to Editors

Naomi House is a purpose-built children's hospice that provides a homely environment for children and young people with life-limiting conditions that mean that they will not live to become adults.

Situated just north of Winchester in Hampshire, we offer one-to-one palliative care that includes respite, terminal and bereavement care and support to children and their families in central southern England. We are available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and it costs around £2.5 million every year to keep this service running.

With just 10% of our income coming from government, Naomi House relies on the generosity of people in the community to continue its work. Their help and time allows us to provide these crucial care services, free of charge, to children and their families.

jacksplace@naomihouse

Building a new hospice for young people with life-limiting illnesses
Medical advances mean that many children with life-limiting illnesses, who have grown up visiting Naomi House, are now living to become young adults. The environment at Naomi House is principally designed to suit children; the needs of young people are very different to theirs. Naomi House has recognised this and has consulted extensively with young people to design a facility that caters for their medical and social needs.

In 2007 Naomi House launched a major appeal to raise £12million to build, equip and run a new hospice for young people with life-limiting illnesses. The new hospice will enable Naomi House to provide care for young people over the age of 18 years old. The new hospice will be named jacksplace@naomihouse, after Jack Witham, whose generous bequest made the dream of a hospice for young people possible. The appeal aims to raise the remaining £6million that is required to build, equip and run jacksplace@naomihouse over the next three years.

jacksplace@naomihouse will be completed in the summer of 2009. The design of the new facility includes six specially designed bedrooms with en-suite facilities that give the youngsters privacy and dignity. There will be two bedrooms where families can stay and be close to their young person, and a butterfly suite for end-of-life care. Other facilities will include a wheelchair accessible kitchen, social areas, a sports field and gardens.