Our partner charity The Sick Children’s Trust sent us a lovely letter thanking CHSF for a contribution of around £4.5k towards renovating the ground floor kitchen at Eckersley House.
The work was completed in November, and has only been possible because of your donations!
The project involved renovating the kitchen, installing new units, furniture and flooring and two sets of brand-new sinks, washers, cookers, ovens and extractor fans on each side of the kitchen.
The work commenced on 16 October 2023, and was completed on 1 November 2023.
The old flooring in the playroom was blue in colour and was also showing signs of wear and tear, so it was replaced with the same American Oak-style flooring in as in the kitchen, so it all matches together.
Here’s some before and after images of the renovated kitchen…
The Sick Children’s Trust told us:
“We are so grateful to you for your donation which was instrumental in enabling us to continue providing families with high-quality accommodation close to their child’s hospital bedside.
“Giving parents and siblings somewhere to have a family meal together away from the ward will help them maintain some of the stability of their normal family life, reducing stress and helping them to be in a better frame of mind to help care for their child in hospital.
“Because they will be able to have a balanced meal, and won’t have to rely on shop-bought sandwiches and takeaways, they will be able to look after their own health and be at their best to support their child. And because they can buy food cheaply at the supermarket like they would at home, they won’t incur any additional financial costs that could add to their stress and worry.
“Last year, nearly 90% of families staying at Eckersley House found the kitchen facilities useful during their stay, and 85% told us they had gained benefit from interacting with other families staying in the house.
Your generous support of this refurbishment project will allow us to continue delivering these benefits to many more families for years to come.”
Jane, the House Manager at Eckersley House added:
“I am very happy with the kitchen refurbishment, the new lighter flooring and white cupboards make the whole area look so much bigger. It’s great that all 8 families now have a lockable cupboard to put their food in and a large fridge freezer to store food too.
The families who have used our ‘new’ kitchen area have all been very impressed and have said they have enjoyed cooking and eating in such a beautiful area.
The playroom has had a new floor which makes the whole area flow better and looks so homely and comfortable.”
We need to raise at least £10,000 every year to fund CHSF accommodation.
Please donate what you can to help us reach our goal and ensure heart families who need to stay near their loved ones in hospital can #StayAnotherDay.
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