welcome

welcome from maria

As we look forward to the brighter days of summer, I am delighted to invite you to enjoy the latest copy of ‘Cwtch’. I hope you will be inspired, as I am, by the photos and stories of some of the most heroic people I know, the children, young people and their amazing families supported by our charity.

For Tˆy Hafan, as for many of you, it feels like we are emerging from a long period of hibernation. That said, it has been an exceptionally busy time for all of us. While our amazing care teams continued to deliver their tender, specialist care in PPE, 24/7, our community teams were out there in children’s homes, schools, in hospital, wherever they were needed. Despite ongoing restrictions, retail colleagues worked hard to keep our shops going; lottery, fundraising, philanthropy and supporter care colleagues continued to engage with our supporter and donors to raise much needed funds to enable us to support some of the most special children and families in Wales through some of the most difficult times in their lives. I must not forget my colleagues ‘behind the scenes’. Running a business to be a charity, providing free palliative care and support to those who need it, continues to be a real challenge in the current climate, but we are inspired every day by these children and families, and by you, our loyal supporters. There have been some positive highlights. In the darkest days of Winter, the Welsh Government responded to our joint campaign (supported by many of you) with Tˆy Gobaith, the children’s hospice in North Wales, for a ‘Lifeline Fund’, initially increasing our statutory funding for the cost of care from 5% to 21%, on a par with England. Although there is more to do to achieve funding of 50% (as children’s hospices do in Scotland), this is a real step forward, particularly while costs are escalating at an unprecedented rate across the entire charity. Both charities were also delighted to be selected by Principality Building Society colleagues as their Charity of the Year – enabling us to raise funds, and vitally, awareness of our services, across Wales. We also completed the beautiful refurbishment of our hospice and sensory gardens, which hopefully you will get to see one day soon.

our new look magazine!

cwtch has had a makeover, but it still contains the inspirational stories from young people and their families, through to the latest fundraising news. We have introduced QR codes, so you can scan the code quickly on your mobile device to read more about the article itself and similar features.