Christmas Carol makes it a Merry Christmas for Children’s Hospice

Workers at Persimmon Homes’ regional HQ in Lancaster have spent recent weeks collecting brand new toys and gifts for children at Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley. The donation was organised by Persimmon employee Carol Larn, who along with a colleague, this week personally delivered the toys to the hospice which provides care for children and young adults with serious and life-limiting illnesses. Carol said: “We normally hold a fundraising raffle in January, but this year we decided to get into the spirit of Christmas with a toy collection. It’s such a fantastic cause and it’s nice to bring some Christmas cheer to children and young people who deserve a smile at this time of year.”Caroline Taylor, Head of Income at Derian House Children’s Hospice, said: “We can’t thank Carol and her colleagues at Persimmon Homes enough for this very generous and thoughtful donation. This time of year can be difficult for families spending time at the hospice and these toys will definitely bring some much-welcome smiles to our children and their siblings. It costs us £5.7million to run services at Derian House every year and we receive very little of this through government funding, so rely heavily on the generosity of our donors. It is only thanks to the kindness of people like the staff of Persimmon that we can continue to help our families and we are very grateful.”

Managing Director of Persimmon Homes Lancashire Anthony Mansfield said, “As a business we donate to worthy local causes every month through our Community Champions scheme, but these gifts have been donated directly from individual staff from all over the Lancashire business. Derian House is a great local charity and I’m really glad we’ve been able to help them at this time of year.” Derian House cares for 450 children, young people and their families from across the North West, offering palliative, respite and end of life care.