Hospice takes a gamble (From Gazette Series)

Hospice takes a gamble

ACRONS Children's Hospice is asking people to have flutter and sign up to its lottery which will play a big part in helping raise funds to support life-limited youngsters and their families.

The Acorns Gloucestershire Lottery offers a top weekly prize of £1,000 for a £1 stake as well as 17 other £20 and £10 prizes.

Manager Peggy Gelding explained: "By playing our lottery you'll not only have the chance to win a substantial cash prize but also contribute to the building and running of Acorns' new state-of-the-art, 10-bed hospice. Every time you play, you will be helping life-limited children in you area get the care they so urgently need.

Building work on the new hospice, on the southern outskirts of Worcester, is already well under way. The hospice will have a hydrotherapy pool, a multi sensory room to stimulate the senses, an adolescent wing so that teenagers can have some privacy and be themselves and a landscaped garden for the children to play in safety.

"The Acorns lottery is about bringing Acorns care closer to life-limited children and their families throughout Gloucestershire who need our support. The new hospice will make this possible and will offer respite, emergency and terminal care and support to over 80 local children, their families and bereaved families who previously have not been able to make the journey to one of our other hospices," said Mrs Gelding.

The first draw will take place on June 11. "We're putting our faith in local people to make the lottery a very successful venture for Acorns in Gloucestershire," said Mrs Gedling.

Acorns Children's Hospice Trust offers community support at home and has two hospices in the West Midlands offering respite, emergency and terminal care.

The new 10-bed hospice will offer care and support for 250 children and their families across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Acorns hopes to complete the hospice in December and welcome families early in 2005.

For more information on how to play the Acorns Gloucestershire Lottery people should call 01452 386100 or write to the Acorns Lottery Office, Mendip Suite, Spread Eagle Court, Northgate Street, Gloucestershire GL1 1SL.