Meet the new elephant who now lives with children with life limiting conditions at Derian House in Chorley

Designed by young people at Derian House – as well as their siblings - the hospice is proud to welcome Tallulah the elephant as a gift from the charity.

Victoria Morrison-Hughes, trustee for the RSP said: “RSP sourced four life-size elephants, all of which were then decorated by well-known artists with one very special elephant decorated by the children at Derian House themselves.

“Through the sheer generosity of guests at our ball, RSP was able to raise an extra £61,000 for Tallulah so that the children of Derian House could keep her and she is now standing proud in Derian House reception.

“On this occasion, we chose to work with elephants as a project as these animals have a remarkable recall power which researchers believe is a big part of their survival. With this in mind an elephant has a special meaning to us all at RSP and through our donations we hope to, literally change lives.”

Overall RSP raised £270,000 - enough to buy a holiday lodge at Ribby Hall Village; pay for the creation of a new Sunflower Suite for babies and also for the creation of a new Reflection Room.

David Robinson, chief executive of Derian House Children’s Hospice, said: “Our children and their siblings worked really hard to decorate Tallulah the elephant and we were thrilled with the result. For fund-raisers to show such generosity in buying Tallulah to then donate back to Derian for our children to enjoy was overwhelming.

“I’d like to say thank you to the RSP who worked tirelessly to pull off a fund-raiser ball, and to every person who helped raise this wonderful amount and has allowed us to keep Tallulah at the hospice to bring smiles to our children.”