Shooting Star Children’s Hospices is a vital charity which provides palliative and respite care to children from across London and Surrey, including Elmbridge. The children they support may have been born with life-limiting progressive conditions, have cancer, or have undiagnosed conditions with complex symptoms. I saw this invaluable support when I visited their hospice in Hampton last year (photo below).

As with so many other businesses and charities, Shooting Star has been impacted by the restrictions required by the coronavirus pandemic. They have had to cancel their fundraising events and close their charity shops, meaning that the organisation faces a real financial challenge. They have already taken the difficult decision to close the Hampton hospice.

The government is making sure that charities like Shooting Star receive support. Last week, the Chancellor announced that he will be providing up to £200 million for hospices, to help increase capacity and give stability to the sector at this time. I am pleased that Shooting Star will benefit from this.

As a charity, however, Shooting Star still relies on the generosity of its supporters, and will continue to do so. They have therefore launched an emergency fundraising appeal, and I would encourage anyone to support them if they are able. This will help them to continue to provide essential care to families in our communities who are going through incredibly difficult times. You can find details on their website, here.