PRESS RELEASE: Martin House Hospice ‘teams up’ with Gareth Southgate to launch largest fundraising appeal to date

Yorkshire-based Martin House Hospice, which provides specialist palliative care to children and young people with life-shortening illnesses, has today launched its largest fundraising appeal to date.

The charity’s ambassador and manager of England’s national men’s football team, Gareth Southgate, launched the campaign’s Public Appeal, breaking ground on its ambitious new project, ‘THE BUILD’. The hospice is urging the public to donate towards its £2 million target by their winter 2025 deadline.

The £21.9 million project, THE BUILD, set to be complete by September 2025, will enable Martin House to continue to support children, young people and their families for many years to come. These plans have been created in collaboration with the families using the hospice, including the children themselves, to ensure their needs are front and centre of the project.

Gareth Southgate, said: “Living locally to the hospice, I have supported and worked closely with Martin House for a number of years now and I admire the work they do for the local community, children and families across Yorkshire and beyond. The hospice is a lifeline for local families, and it really does transform the lives of young people with life-limiting illnesses every single day.

“THE BUILD project shows Martin House’s ongoing commitment to improving and investing in family-led care. These improvements will strengthen the hospice’s existing services and guarantee its future, helping to enrich the experience for the entire family.

“It’s so important that we all come together to support the hospice, donating an amount you are comfortable with, to support such an important cause!”

THE BUILD will consist of two phases: phase 1 being a children’s wing and phase 2 comprising a teenager’s wing, wellbeing and education centre.

The children’s wing will ensure that whether a family is visiting for respite or end-of-care life, support is delivered in the best environment with all the facilities required to meet their often-complex needs. The space has been designed to balance a “home for home” feel, with the required clinical facilities, to be fully accessible and to always offer privacy and dignity.

Phase one’s Children’s wing will include 9 enchanted forest-themed bedrooms with piped oxygen, integrated hoists and access to the private garden. Communal spaces like the art room, playrooom, lounge and dining area allow for truly holistic wrap round care. Alongside this are 2 cooled bedroom suites where children are cared for after death, to allow families time to say goodbye and receive much needed emotional support.

Phase two’s teenage wing has 6 ensuite bedrooms and will create a social space for young people. Facilities will include an interactive den with sensory area, a recording studio for teens to create their own music, and a gaming zone, giving them more freedom and independence, allowing teens to be teens!

Phase two’s Education centre will keep Martin House at the forefront of paediatric palliative care with adaptable spaces to facilitate training for healthcare professionals across the region, implementing a collaborative approach to palliative care for children across all settings.

The well-being centre will include a hydrotherapy and sensory pool, day therapy space, consulting rooms and a state-of-the-art sensory room with immersive cinema experience.

Clair Holdsworth, Chief Executive at Martin House, said: “Martin House provides specialist paediatric palliative care across Yorkshire. Advances in medicine mean more children and young people with life shortening conditions are living for longer and with increasingly complex needs. Our building needs to be transformed to meet those changing needs, so over the next 18 months, we are asking the people of Yorkshire to help us raise £2 million, so we can complete this essential and ambitious £21.9m project, so please BACK THE BUILD”.

Bethany and Jack Harrison, parents of Thomas, three, who uses Martin House, said: “Martin House is a lifeline to us, we don’t know what we’d do without it. But we are looking forward to all the new facilities THE BUILD will bring. We’ve never been able to take Thomas swimming because it would be too much to manage in a normal pool, so we can’t wait for him to experience the new hydrotherapy pool, as he loves water.

“Thomas also needs oxygen at night, and currently we have to get bottles delivered to Martin House – having piped oxygen in his bedroom will make a huge difference to our stays.”

Clair, continued: “THE BUILD will enable us to offer the best technology-led care, yet in a homely environment and it will give us more space for all the equipment the children we care for require”

“We understand that the current economic circumstances are tough for many people at the moment, and we would be grateful for any donations at all, no amount is too small, every penny will make a significant difference and go directly towards funding THE BUILD.”

Martin House is set to launch several fundraising events for the public to support THE BUILD, in partnership with HARIBO. Sign up to fundraise, donate or keep up-to-date on the project.