Together we
support
empower
change
amplify

so no child or family
is ever left behind.

Our value and impact
2017-2018

Making sure no child or family is ever left behind.

Hearing the news that your child is going to die young is heartbreaking. It’s an incredibly distressing and confusing time, and families say they can feel isolated and lonely. Families coming to terms with this devastating news simply don’t know where to turn for help, and too many families struggle to get the care they need. These families simply don’t have time to wait.

No family should face this heartbreak alone. Getting the right support can make all the difference. Together for Short Lives is the UK charity that’s making life better for seriously ill children and their families.

Together we
support

31%
rise in calls

We supported more families than ever via our family helpline.

52%
rise in calls

We gave quality one-to-one support to professionals.

100%
of the families supported by our advocacy service said that our help was good or very good.

151,500+
people visited our website hub to get vital support.

The lifeline

Our Together for Families helpline has continued to grow from strength to strength this year, signposting families and professionals to the right support for them and providing a listening ear to families who need to talk. The overall number of calls received by families has increased by 31%, evidence that more families than ever are turning to us for support.

“Reading your booklets has made me feel like I’m not mad. Your support has been incredible and just knowing I can pick up the phone gives me the strength to get through this horrendous time.”
A mum who has a four-year-old daughter with Niemann-Pick Disease

Fighting your corner

With more families than ever seeking our support, the advocacy service we offer in collaboration with LawWorks, Voices for Families, continues to plug gaps left by changes to the legal aid system.

Pro-bono lawyers have worked alongside families to secure the care packages and living arrangements they are entitled to. This year, the scheme was extended to operate in three new settings.

John Roden and his family were supported through our Advocacy Project via Richard House, and were rehoused as a result.

Together we
empower

Our new pathway to improve care for seriously ill babies was downloaded by
1200+
individuals.

We shared vital information to support children and families.

5214+
specialist resources downloaded

We helped professionals
develop their skills with
700 People
joining our learning events.

Our series of six learning webinars about improving support for young people reached at least
150 people

91%
would change an aspect of their work as a result.

100%
enjoyed the events.

“Together for Short Lives didn’t just support me to find the right hospice, or give me an opportunity to use my voice in the future – they helped me to be Chelsea again”

Chelsea Corbett, Young Avenger

Young Avengers take the stage

Young Avenger Chelsea and bereaved Mum Josie headed up our BBC Lifeline Appeal. They both loved the experience and were so keen to help others in need of support.

“The new website looks awesome, really neat and device responsive, I could get ‘round it better on my phone”

Chelsea Corbett

Together we
change

Children’s Hospice Week helped change perceptions.

It trended on Twitter for
6 hours!

During Children’s Hospice Week we shared powerful stories in the media – reaching over
61 million people

Our social media stories reached over
30 million

We worked with families to close a legal loophole barring children under three from accessing the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance. Now families can get out and about.

“If we didn’t have a wheelchair accessible vehicle for Stanley we’d be extremely limited in terms of what we could do. The vehicle helps us get out and about, giving Stanley the quality of life he deserves and helping us make amazing memories.”

Emma Murphy, Stanley’s Mum

In one week in October we were mentioned on 4 separate occasions in Parliament.

We had 325
one-to-one conversations with politicians and civil servants, about what children and families need most.

Together we
amplify

Raising vital funds for children’s hospices

Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge, as Royal Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, celebrated Children’s Hospice Week — the only week in the year dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the lifeline children’s hospice services across the UK.

45,600
people now engaged across Facebook and Twitter.

1231
charity and professional members make us a powerful collective voice for children and families.

A good death is priceless

When families face the heartbreak of their child’s death, we want to make sure that every child has the end of life care they need, and a good death. This year we’ve been working hard, in partnership with bereaved parents and five national charities, to end a cruel postcode lottery and help families facing the unimaginable to have the best possible end of life care. We shared our ambitions to help every child have a good death at a special Westminster event called Follow the Child.

“There’s no dress rehearsal for death – there’s just one chance to get it right. Make an excellent plan for your child’s end of life as soon as possible and then forget about it and just live and follow your child in whatever they want to do. A good death is priceless.”
Sacha Langton-Gilks, Parent

We were one of 44 charities calling for bereavement support for families grieving the loss of a baby.

In Baby Loss Awareness Week 99 MPs acted to support our joint calls and 71 buildings across the UK turned blue and pink to remember babies who have died.

We are changing perceptions of what it’s like to care for a seriously ill child.

In July we gave over 30 media interviews and reached an audience of 22M.

Our campaign for 24/7 out-of-hours care for seriously ill children reached an audience of 39M over one weekend in November 2017.

Together we
can do even more

Over £1M
has been raised and shared to fund lifeline support for children, young people and families in children’s hospices and specialist charities.

that’s 37,800 extra hours of vital care.

Our fundraisers had a busy year

790 miles
41 runners
raising
£82,033

1,755 miles
101 trekkers
raising
£74,592

2,620 miles
37 cyclists
raising
£62,681

190,000 ft
19 skydivers
raising
£4,453

Making magical moments with Disney

In November, Disney UK and Together for Short Lives launched a festive campaign to raise funds and awareness, creating magical memories for children supported by local children’s hospices.

£325,000 was raised across the entire campaign and gifts in kind with a value of over £36,000 were donated to children’s hospices across the UK, allowing them to hold a magical ‘Olaf’s Frozen Adventure’ themed party for the families they support.

Pedal power

“I’d reached a milestone birthday (my 50th) and wanted to take on a physical challenge. I had visited the local children’s hospice that our Village supports, Charlton Farm, and was extremely touched by both the people using the facilities and the people who worked there.”

Andy De’Ath, General Manager at Center Parcs Longleat Forest, who took on a 575km cycle challenge through Route 66 in America.

We’ve got the X Factor

Now in its 7th year, our partnership with the X Factor gives us valuable exposure, beaming our work into the living rooms of millions every year.

This time, we were thrilled when our Patron Simon Cowell generously pledged £250,000 to Together for Short Lives and a local children’s hospice live on air!

Our awesome supporters took part in bake sales, raffles, coffee mornings, paddleboard marathons, dance-a-thons, football matches, bucket collections, zipwires and more.

They raised an amazing
£82,760

The money raised via our BBC Lifeline appeal will help
550 Families
calling our helpline.

Your support is
life changing

We want to say a huge thank you to each and every one of our generous supporters and funders for helping us do more for children and families.

A D Power Will Trust

Anne & Tony Murtagh

Arbonne Charitable Foundation

Autoglass

Baron Davenport’s Charity

Bayer UK and Ireland

BUPA UK Foundation

Burdett Trust for Nursing

Clara E. Burgess Charity

Claudia & Evan Breibart

Center Parcs

Clyde & Co

eBay

De La Rue

Dribuild

Edith Murphy Foundation

Gareth Neame

GREAT Britain Campaign

Hall and Woodhouse

Hays

Hobbycraft

Hoover Foundation

Hospital Saturday Fund

James Tudor Foundation

Jenny Holt

Jimmy Knapp Cancer Fund

John Ellerman Foundation

Leaders

MariaMarina Foundation

Matt Tyler

Mike & Cat Marshall

Miss Teen Great Britain

Riley Consulting

Santander

Scouloudi Foundation

Simon Cowell

Simpson Travel

Sony

St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation

Steve & Tracy Smith

Syco Entertainment

Thales

The Brian Mitchell Charitable Settlement

The Childwick Trust

The Entertainer

The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity

The Gurney Charitable Trust

The Insolvency Service

The Michael & Anna Wix Charitable Trust

The Oakdale Trust

The Royal Foundation

The Thomas J. Horne Memorial Trust

The Thousandth Man - Richard Burns Charitable Trust

The True Colours Trust

Toby & Jayne Ricketts

William A. Cadbury Trust

William Allen Young Charitable Trust

“The John Ellerman Foundation are delighted to be supporting the development of Together for Short Lives’ new website, which is integral to their work supporting families through difficult times as effectively as possible.”

“Together for Short Lives has been incredibly supportive of my journey with Simone, including giving me a better understanding of end of life plans and transition processes from children’s to adult services. In short, they are always there working hard for a better deal for our children. And if that’s not amazing enough they even helped me to get a brilliant job working for the Care Quality Commission.”

Sue, Simone’s Mum