A Liverpool baby hospice that was under threat of closure has raised £5m in just 30 days to secure its future.
Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice in Liverpool announced last month that it needed to raise the sum urgently to continue providing support to young children and their families in the city.
It is shortly moving from its current base as the lease is to run out next year but planning and funding challenges meant it was unable to secure a new site.
Its current site is owned by Catholic organisation The Institute of Our Lady of Mercy, which is selling the site next year.
An appeal was launched to raise the £5m needed to secure a new site, which may include buying, building, renovating or equipping a suitable building.
The closure would have seen 41 members of staff face losing their jobs.
But at the weekend the hospice’s local MP Ian Byrne, who represents Liverpool West Derby announced that the total had been exceeded.
“I am absolutely delighted to announce that the remarkable fundraising efforts to main the provision of Zoe’s Place Liverpool Baby Hospice here in West Derby have secured the extremely ambitious 30-day fundraising target of £5m,” he said.
“This is thanks to the incredible efforts of the people and businesses of Liverpool”.
— lan Byrne MP (@IanByrneMP) November 8, 2024
The biggest donation was from Liverpool based retailer T.J Morris Ltd, which runs the Home Bargains chain. It donated £2.5m to the appeal.
According to the charity's Just Giving fundraising page it’s current fundraising total as of Monday morning was £6.4m, which includes fundraising from before the appeal launched.
Byrne added: “I knew right from the start that, with the backing of our fantastic local community, we could reach this target for the hospice, the wonderful staff, children and families.”
“It was clearly a huge ask to raise £5m in just a few weeks, but as I said at the time, if any city can do it, Liverpool can.”
The fundraising campaign for the hospice has been praised by Charity Commission chief executive David Holdsworth, who has met with Byrne as well as engaging with Our Lady of Mercy trustees and Zoe’s Place.
“These are challenging times for charities and in particular for hospices.
“The remarkable generosity of business leaders, philanthropists and the people of Liverpool and beyond has ensured that the fundraising campaign for one of the city’s only children’s hospices has reached its target.
"The campaign is testament to the power of charity.”
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