Family helps give hospice big boost
The family of a young child who was given end-of-life care at a Kinross hospice have expressed their joy in helping to raise over £400,000 for vulnerable children across Scotland.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland’s (CHAS) urgent Christmas appeal campaign included a radio advert and the support service’s first-ever television advert, and marked the culmination of a year where Scots stood alongside those in greatest need and donated generously.
Jaxon Stars and his family were supported by CHAS through respite visits to Rachel House in Kinross up until his death in February 2018, aged just 13 months old.
Jaxon was born two days before Christmas Day in 2016 with a rare form of epilepsy called Otahara syndrome and a neurodegenerative disorder called pontocerebellar hypoplasia meaning he suffered from regular seizures.
Upon hearing the £400,000 fundraising target had been reached, Jaxon’s mum Lisa said: “I am in awe at how much the CHAS Christmas campaign has raised and feel so honoured to have played a part in this in memory of Jaxon.
“We all miss him so much and, as he was born at Christmastime,
being involved in the CHAS campaign was a wonderful tribute to him. My family also contributed by doing our own little fundraiser in December to mark his birthday which raised over £500.
“I feel really proud knowing we have helped to raise money for families going through what we went through across Scotland.
“We received so many lovely messages of support and people have given so generously so I would like to say a personal thank you to everyone for their kindness and their donations.”
CHAS at Home nurses have never been in greater demand with the team undertaking over 270 homecare visits all across the country offering care to families in their own homes.
CHAS also introduced a new bereavement service which helped families build resilience and enabled them to feel empowered to cope with the death of their child at a difficult time of year.
All of it was made possible by generous supporters.
Director of fundraising and communications at CHAS Iain McAndrew said: “I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us raise this astounding amount and supported us through a very busy December - we are overwhelmed and incredibly grateful.
“This campaign has also allowed us to reach a whole new group of supporters and partners with almost a third of all gifts coming from supporters completely new to us.”