To celebrate 40 years of care, the National Children’s Social Palliative Care Charity Rainbow Trust, hosted a special family fun day for local families at Bradshaw Hall Primary School earlier this week.
Rainbow Trust supports families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness, and its Manchester Care team has been supporting local families for over 22 years. The special event for children and families which took place at Bradshaw Hall Primary school in Cheadle Hulme earlier this week, was an opportunity for those families supported by Rainbow Trust to come together and enjoy some much needed family fun during the school holidays.
Evie’s family went along and had a brilliant time with other children and parents allowing them to spend valuable time with others who are going through similar challenging and difficult circumstances. The ill children played alongside their siblings and families, and they enjoyed face painting, a treasure hunt, games, arts and crafts. Evie’s mum Vicky said: “As parents we are caring for Evie 24/7 and having support from Rainbow Trust brings Evie so much joy. Evie was born at 29 weeks and has been very poorly having had multiple operations. Without Rainbow Trust and Family Support Worker Emma’s support, life would be a lot more difficult.”
The event was attended by the charity campaigner, mental health advocate and well-respected local businessman, Dr Michael Josephson MBE, who has raised £500,000 for Rainbow Trust over the past few years. He joined the 40th Anniversary celebrations to see first-hand the impact of his support, as families facing the reality of serious childhood illness enjoyed a much-needed day of fun, normality and some respite from their day-to day reality. Dr Josephson said: “It was so special to go and see the wonderful work Rainbow Trust is doing with families and terminally ill and sick children, changing their lives and helping the families on a day-to-day basis. This is what it’s all about. Thank you so much to everyone who consistently supports me, enabling days like this and allowing my work to continue for the charities I support and donate to from the MJ Ball.”
Chief Executive Rainbow Trust, Zillah Bingley reflected on the event saying: “For four decades, Rainbow Trust has supported families caring for a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness offering practical help, emotional support and a constant presence through the hardest moments. We provide this vital service without any central government funding, and I am forever grateful to Michael, one of our biggest supporters, for his crucial support in helping us to support these families in Manchester.”
