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Francis House Children’s Hospice has been providing respite care for children, teenagers and young adults with life-limiting conditions since it opened its doors in 1991. The hospice helps over 370 families from all over the north west of England. Caring for someone, often for twenty four hours a day, seven days a week can put a huge strain on families. In spite of their desperate need, many shy away from seeking help from a hospice. They expect that it will be a sad place, and some may not feel ready to face the true nature of their child’s condition. When they do come to Francis House they find a place of rest, fun and enjoyment in a comfortable, home from home environment. All our services are completely free. By far the largest part of funding comes through charitable donations. In recent years, medical interventions and improved methods of care have seen the number of children living into early adulthood increase. To meet this growing need, a seven bedroom extension for teenagers and young adults was opened in May 2014. All children who come to Francis House have life-limiting conditions and their care is palliative. When life is short it must be of the highest quality. That's what we work hard to achieve.

Headway Stockport provide a regular drop in service for the survivors of brain injury and their families. Many people find themselves isolated following brain injury and Headway provides the support and guidance survivors and their families need. We provide regular information evenings so that people can learn more about their brain injury and also regular social activities. This is a vital way for our members form friendships, build social skills and increase confidence. This in turn improves mental health. We have an annual activity weekend, where our members challenge their fears and learn new skills. This involves rock climbing, canoeing, abseiling, archery, orienteering and much more. As many of our members have physical disabilities we need to book with specialist services, which can be expensive. The weekend has a massive impact on our members who have had a weekend of good, structured activity, fun and learning. Our members face their fears, gain confidence and make new friends. This is a vital part of the service we offer. Many of our members are unable to work due to the issues associated with their brain injury so we look to fund the majority of the holiday, so that funding is not a barrier to accessing the weekend.

Every summer we provide month long recuperative in the UK for children from Belarus. For children who cannot come to the UK, we send volunteers out to support a holiday at a holiday camp in a clean part of Belarus in July and August. We purchase urgently needed medicines for the Children’s Cancer Hospital in Minsk. During the last fourteen years we have had a major training programme which has helped to reduce the numbers of children in the orphanages and to prepare suitable local foster families. Much of our work focuses on improving the educational and social opportunities for children and young people with disabilities. We fund extra staff at Zhuravichi Orphanage, have set up small family homes for children, Rodni Kut, and young adults, Family Home 2000 and established the first respite care facility in Belarus And we are promoting integration of children with physical disabilities into schools.