Acorns Hospice boss reflects on rollercoaster year

Acorns Children's Hospice, which has a branch in Walsall, has continued to help support families in need throughout lockdown.

Here chief executive Toby Porter explains his gratitude to staff, volunteers and people who have donated to keep the hospice going.

It has been very moving to reflect back on a full year since the first lockdown. How little we knew, this time last year, about the virus and how its impact would be felt over every aspect of our lives. I would like to offer my deep condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones during this terrible crisis. They will never be forgotten.

Like all charities, Acorns has been on a rollercoaster journey navigating all of the impacts of this crisis on our hospices, and on the lives of the children and families we support. They have always been, and remain, our biggest concern. Not easy for anyone, lockdown has been especially tough for families of children with serious health challenges. For anyone reading this caring for a poorly child at home for almost a year, cut off from so much of the practical and social support you would normally have had, please know that we think you have been quite remarkable with the resilience you have shown.

We are proud of our wonderful staff and volunteers at Acorns, who have been incredible, working throughout the crisis at obvious risk to their own health. I’m so proud of everything they have achieved and continue to achieve in some of the most challenging circumstances we’ve ever had to face as a charity.

Whilst this year has been unprecedented, readers will know it followed a year when we were faced with closing Acorns Children’s Hospice in the Black Country because of the financial situation we were in. Thanks to the local community who have been phenomenal, the subsequent Appeal to save this local lifeline meant that our Black Country hospice has been at the heart of Acorns Covid-19 emergency response, caring for some of the most vulnerable children and families in the region.

From a financial point of view, as a charity that relies on fundraising to continue providing our care, the pandemic obviously has been a massive concern. Our charity shops, which generate profits of over £1 million a year towards our care work have now been closed for around half of the past year. Many key fundraising events and activities require bringing people together for races, walks, parties, and so have been cancelled.

However, we have been very lucky to receive and take advantage of a number of support schemes such as furlough for our retail staff when shops are shut. The NHS has also given a special and very significant package of support for the UK’s hospices, to allow us to continue to provide our care throughout. In addition, our supporters have continued to be hugely generous, and continued to donate to our appeals throughout the year. We are humbled and grateful by the full extent of this generosity; it has been quite remarkable.

As the latest phase of lockdown restrictions begins to ease, there is still much uncertainty ahead. But we remain hopeful and buoyed by the progress of the UK’s vaccination programme which continues in earnest. At the time of writing over 28.3 million people have received their first dose, that’s over half of all adults across the UK. Among them are our dedicated hospice teams, who thankfully have had access to vaccinations as per of the care home worker category. All visitors to our hospices now take a lateral flow Covid test on arrival. So, our hospices are becoming even safer for children and families, and for our own amazing team.

This is one of many steps we have taken to give families, colleagues and volunteers at Acorns a high level of assurance so we can continue to deliver care safely and confidently.

We are proud to have been able to continue supporting children and families throughout the pandemic and will continue to be flexible in how we respond to the external environment. We would like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has so generously donated to support our children’s hospice care over this pandemic.

Whatever happens next, thanks to your generosity, I am more and more confident that Acorns will continue in our mission to support every child and family in the Black Country who needs us, now and long after this crisis has passed.