Ready, teddy, go! Julia’s House Children’s Hospice is calling on people of all ages to bring their favourite soft toy into work, school or their community group for the charity’s Big Teddy Takeover.

Last year, around 35 schools and groups across Wiltshire took part in the fundraising campaign to mark the national Children’s Hospice Week, which this year takes place from 16th to 22nd June.

Together, they raised more than £6,000 for local families supported by Julia’s House; the equivalent of six full weeks of essential respite care for a child with a life-limiting and complex condition.

This year, Julia’s House is encouraging local businesses and more community groups to get involved too.

“The Big Teddy Takeover is such a simple idea and lots of fun for workplaces to get involved with,” said Julia’s House Corporate Fundraiser, Jo Common. “Companies are asked to encourage their teams to bring in a cuddly toy and a £1 donation for Julia’s House on a day of their choice in June.  And if they’d like to make their Big Teddy Takeover even more paw-some, they could add onesies and slippers, book and bake sales, teddy bear picnics, teddy-themed activities and more.

“Not only will taking part be a bit of fun, but activities like this can be great at helping build team morale, staff wellbeing, and quite simply give everyone the opportunity to go to work and feel good about raising money for a local cause.”

Actor and presenter, Chris Jarvis, is backing the Big Teddy Takeover again this year. Chris has been a patron and passionate supporter of Julia’s House for many years and frequently visits the charity’s hospices to meet the families and read stories to the children.

Chris said, “Julia’s House continues to be the most precious sanctuary for our most remarkable young people and their families. Everything about the place is uplifting and inspiring; and everyone who works there brings enormous joy. However, funding all the amazing resources, activities and the building itself is no picnic, and that’s why we need to call in the teddy bears who make picnics truly awesome. Please get involved with your little ones! A little teddy can make a big difference.”

Children’s Hospice Week aims to raise awareness and funds for palliative care services and children’s hospices like Julia’s House and the families they support.

Julia’s House is Wiltshire’s local children’s hospice, providing specialist care to children with life-limiting and complex conditions and supporting their families, giving them all a chance to have the magical moments and memories every child and family deserves.

The charity’s amazing nurses and carers bring fun and laughter, clinical care and compassion to the children they support. And they give exhausted parents a much-needed respite break from around the clock care, with the peace of mind their child is in safe hands.

One of the children cared for by Julia’s House is two-year-old Sully Parker, from Warminster. Sully was born with a very rare and life-shortening condition called pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency (PDH), which causes his lactic acid to build up to dangerously high levels.

Sully can’t produce any energy himself, so even drinking a bottle of milk can make him exhausted and go completely limp. Now he’s nearly three and is pump fed through a tube into his tummy to make sure he doesn’t get dehydrated or sick. He also suffers from seizures, low muscle tone, and dystonia, which causes painful muscle spasms.

Doctors are still learning about Sully’s condition and that can be very hard on his family, who don’t know how much time they have together.

Sully’s mum Lucy said, “All the nurses and carers at Julia’s House are incredible and I trust them 100% with Sully. It doesn’t matter if they’re coming out to our house, or we’re leaving him at the hospice for a session or sleepover, I know that he’s getting the best care. And that’s all you want really, isn’t it? You want your child to have the best loving care, and I feel like he has that when he’s with Julia’s House.”

The free care provided by Julia’s House to local families is only made possible thanks to fundraising and donations. The charity receives just eight per cent ongoing government funding.

Jo said, “As a charity, our costs are increasing along with the demand for our critical care. More children are being born and living longer with rare and complex medical conditions, so each year we need to raise more money to ensure we can be there for every family that needs us.”