Caring for Life-Limited Children, Northern Ireland

Congratulations everyone! We have reached the Finish Line - our goal (and more) has been achieved! With your magnificent help, our wonderful supporters and donors, Rotary Newtownabbey has now provided a total sum of £11,478.69 for the purchase of specialised equipment in Horizon House, the home of Northern Ireland Children's Hospice.

On 22nd June 2022 three Newtownabbey Club Rotarians (President Roland Bailie with Jim Fitzsimons and Paul Hutchinson) met with staff at the Children's Hospice, Newtownabbey to view some of the equipment provided through your ongoing support. The photographs, taken on that visit, hereafter display those items previously unavailable for reporting - namely the last two in this list:

• one paediatric bed
• two cocoons - burgandy and blue (safety-like wraps)
• three overhead hoists
• one Buddy Roamer (a walker)
• additionally - we since agreed a request to provide support for the provision of a Freedom Trike (kids bike)

The Buddy Roamer, you may recall from the last report, is a walking aid that provides partial weight bearing support with mobility. It is used by children with mild, moderate and complex needs.

The Freedom Trike is the sort of bike kids want for its awesome design, fun colours and smooth ride. Designed for children aged 4-8+ years old and with adjustability in mind it can grow to suit individual children at whatever age. It provides excellent stability. Children can be children, even during their physical therapy sessions!

This project journey has been an amazing experience for us all in Rotary Newtownabbey. Together with such significant support from near and far it has also been both humbling and rewarding (especially in relation to the beneficiaries in the project - the life-limited children of the Hospice). Without you, it just would not have come to fruition. On behalf of the young children using the services of Horizon House, thank you all for your involvement, unstinting support and above all, your generous donations.

• Rotarians Paul H, Jim F and Pres Roland with Staff (DOCX)
• Staff Nurse, President Roland & Trike and Roamer (DOCX)

Well we’re almost there - but not quite! Thanks to our amazing supporters and donors, Rotary Newtownabbey are pleased to report that the magnificent sum of £8,588 ($11,771) has been raised to date to provide the much needed specialist equipment for our local Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice here in Newtownabbey.

This continues to be the most humbling experience for us that so many folk, locally and around the world, should choose to support our project especially in the midst of a Covid pandemic, yet hugely gratifying considering the tremendous needs of the life-limited young children in Horizon House.

Equipment purchased with your ongoing support includes:

One paediatric bed

Two cocoons - burgundy and blue

One buddy roamer (walker) 

and

Three overhead hoists

The paediatric bed purchased is one of seven specialised beds used across the Children’s service that caters for regular short stays for 260 children across the year. 

The buddy roamer is a walking aid that provides partial weight bearing support with mobility. It can be used with children with mild, moderate and complex needs and is invaluable in the Children’s Hospice. 

The fitting of the hoists is however delayed due to the ongoing high volume of maintenance works at present. We look forward to reporting further on developments in our project at Horizon House, Newtownabbey. Thanks once again to all our supporters for their generous donations.

Paul Hutchinson - Project Leader
Rotary Club Newtownabbey