Cornwall LivingIssue #90
Family time
The kitchen is the heart of the hospice at Little Harbour where families come together to enjoy good food and share experiences with others.
Making the most of short and precious lives has been the aim of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) since it started 28 years ago. It now has three children’s hospices in the south west including Little Harbour at Porthpean near St Austell.
“they can form some really good friendships and share experiences”
The charity offers expert medical care, in a home from home environment, for children who sadly are not expected to live into adulthood. The majority of Little Harbour’s care is respite, providing families with short stays where their children’s complex medical needs are met, parents have a break from being primary carers, brothers and sisters are supported by the dedicated sibling team and the whole family can relax, making precious memories together. It also offers palliative care, emergency stays, end of life care and bereavement support.
Families often say it is the small things that make the biggest difference, like the chance to sit and eat together, something they find difficult to find time for at home. Food plays a significant role at Little Harbour; siblings baking, cooks preparing home-cooked meals and families eating together around the dining table.
CHSW’s new fundraising initiative, Cook Eat Give, stems from the idea of enjoying good food with friends and family, and this October CHSW invites people to join them for some foodie fundraising. The appeal encourages supporters to get involved by cooking a meal, sharing it with friends and family who then decide what their meal was worth and make a donation to CHSW.
This new foodie fundraiser will help towards raising the £3 million needed annually to run Little Harbour, which supports 125 local children and their families from Cornwall and Plymouth.
Kerry Hollingsworth, Cook at Little Harbour, tells us: “The word hospice can be scary for families, so when they come for their first visit it’s lovely for them to come to the kitchen and dining room, where everyone sits and eats together; they can form some really good friendships and share experiences. By hosting your own foodie get-together your feast will help us to give families the best possible care when they need it most.”
CHILDREN’S HOSPICE SOUTH WEST
01726 871800
"they can form some really good friendships and share experiences"