The Butterfly Volunteer Service relies on specially trained volunteers to provide companionship for end-of-life patients. Without the Butterfly project, 15-20 patients were dying alone at the Lister each month and others were alone when waiting for relatives to arrive.   Last year Butterflies sat with an incredible 650 patients, demonstrating the immeasurable impact this service has.

In order to keep the project running they must raise over £40,000 each year, to allow them to provide appropriate management and support for 30 volunteers, including training, uniforms, lanyards, information packs and marketing.

Magic of Play

We believe in the magic of play when treating children in hospital. East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust employs a fantastic team of play specialists and the Charity fundraises to enable them to provide their patients with toys, games and the appropriate environment to play in.

Our aim is to reduce anxiety whilst children are waiting to be treated or discharged. Play simply distracts them from their injury or illness; by taking their mind off of being in an unsettling situation. This can result in a reduced need for extra medical input as a relaxed child is much easier to treat, this also inevitably, leads to a more relaxed parent.

We work closely with our clinical colleagues to deliver our ambition of providing opportunities for play to every child visiting our hospitals.

In 2020 we launched our Magic of Play Urgent Toy Appeal and were overwhelmed with the hundreds of kind donations we received from supporters through our Amazon Wish List. As we have now entered our third national lockdown we are currently unable to accept any toy donations for our wards. The best way of supporting poorly children at our hospitals is by making a donation so that we can fund above and beyond items to put smiles on the faces of children in our care.