Support for families: June 2026

“When your child is having open heart surgery in hospital, it is so frightening and worrisome we were just so glad that we had this charity to support us and other families who went through the same thing without your support.“
— heart mum

During the month of June…

• 46 families worked with overall

• 29 families received a tailored packaged of Family Support

• 17 families engaged with

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• 6 young people and their families worked with and supported

• 7 Travel Grants given
• 1 attended Cardiac Cafe
• 18 Supermarket Vouchers given
• 0 Exceptional Grants given

Collaboration

Somerville ‘Hearts Together’ Conference
This month, Katie Bear, Ruth and Lu attended the Somerville Heart Foundation ‘Hearts Together’ event in Leeds. It was a fantastic day filled with talks about wellbeing, medication and the lives of adult heart patients – one of whom had her first heart surgery in 1950! We have left feeling full of excitement for the future and look forward to more events like this!

Cardiac Cafe in Scunthorpe
The team were on the road again this month with a Cardiac Café in Scunthorpe, hosted at one of the local family hubs. The fantastic regional Children’s Cardiac Nurse Specialist, Jemma, come along. The topics of wellbeing, nursery and signposting to local services came up – alongside a good brew and a pastry. Check out future events and sign up.

Support on the ward
Father’s Day

In June we celebrated Father’s Day with the families on Ward 51. We provided a Father’s Day themed wellbeing trolley and a box of goodies for families to gift.

When a family is on the ward there may not be time or the mental space to think about making these special occasions. We want to elevate some of that pressure for families, by enabling children to pick something out for a parent/ carer while they are in hospital, lets families mark these events in a way that works for them.

Community and our fantastic families on Facebook

As a team we want to support families at every stage of the journey, and sometimes families are there to support each other.

This month the Family Support team received a request for support from a family who have had a postnatal diagnosis, who were apprehensive about surgery. The family had accessed forums online that shared some information that heightened this concern for the family.

Our team signposted the family to our private Facebook group and the messages of encouragement, peer to peer connection and wealth of experience of being a heart parent/carer.

The stories of hope and care that were shared with this new heart family were a fantastic example of how CHSF helps families find community in a time that has often been described as isolating.

How is Family Support making a tangible difference to families?

Through our wellbeing initiative, we were able to tailor how we worked with the family, providing siblings with activities, mum with essential items and ensuring that the family had the ability to accesses food that was tailored to their dietary needs.

The team have been able to navigate a language barrier and provide children’s books and resources in Urdu for the family. This small gesture was appreciated by the family as they felt they were able to access what they needed in a way that worked for them.

*Name removed for privacy

“CHSF helped make me the young man I am today”

This month sees a lot of our young people finishing secondary school and looking to the future. We provide a service that continues to support our Heart Warriors through this journey as they head into the world of post 16 education. One of our fantastic young people, Archie, has been with CHSF from the start and wanted to share this:

“As I was born with a heart condition Children’s Heart Surgery Fund have always been there for me, and I have grown up with them! I have never known any different and they have been there to support me through every stage of my childhood, almost like an extension of my family.

 

“When I got into my teenage years the fun really started with so many events. I have eaten so many Dominos pizzas with the CHSF team I have lost count! From fun days out at activity centres, to safe boxing with former champions! The list goes on, a particular favourite of mine was the paint and sip night with mocktails! My painting is still proudly displayed in my lounge! CHSF helped make me the young man I am today, and I can’t wait for more activities!”

Join CHSF’s Youth Hub

This free membership gets you access to our events, an opportunity to be a member of the Youth Voice panel and to influence what CHSF does for you going forward. Become a member to build peer connections and have the opportunity to connect, have fun and make a difference. Find out more

It’s only with the help of our incredible supporters that we can continue to be there for every family that needs us. Thank you.