Supermarket joins Acorns hospice battle
Supermarket staff joined the fight to keep Acorns children's hospice in Walsall open through a fundraising campaign.
Bucket collections were held at Tesco Extra in Walsall in the latest show of support for the campaign for the much-loved hospice.
Families and staff were left stunned when the charity announced it planned to close its hospice in Walsall later this year due to rising costs and falling donations.
The devastating blow has sparked various fundraising campaigns across the Black Country as supporters try to do all they can to give the hospice a chance of staying open.
The fundraising effort at Tesco was set up through the family of brave schoolgirl Isabella Lyttle, who lost her battle against cancer earlier this year.
Her father Mark is helping to drum up support in the hope a "miracle" can happen to save Acorns.
He said: "The response has been phenomenal with so many offers to help and donations of cakes, raffle and tombola prizes, face and nail painting and much more.
"If it’s just a couple of quid you can share every penny will go towards trying to save Acorns. We face a mammoth task but there is exciting stuff in the pipeline this coming week as we are trying everything so no family misses out on the support that we had as a family and our friends throughout Isabella’s wonderful life.
"No family should have to be impacted - which they definitely will - by the closure. To not have the support, care and love that Acorns give our children cannot be underestimated, we speak from personal experience that we wouldn’t still be standing right now without Acorns."
More than 28,500 people have now signed a petition calling for the Walstead Road unit to stay open.
Acorns bosses reached out to supporters last week to thank them for the phenomenal response to the announcement but there has been no indication of a change of plan.
Director of care Emma Aspinall said: "We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support we have received across this really difficult week, following the announcement of our Walsall proposal.
"People have been asking what they can do to help. We still need the generous support from our local communities. We still need you to make the donations, to fundraise, to visit our local shops, to do events."
