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There are thousands of children and young people in the UK living with a long-term or complex health condition. WellChild is the national charity working to ensure the best possible care and support for all these children and their families, wherever they are and whenever they need it.  We aim to ensure families with seriously ill children get the support they need for every step of their journey by:

• Enabling children and young people to be cared for at home wherever possible through our network of WellChild Children’s Nurses.
• Creating safe and practical spaces for children in their homes through our WellChild Helping Hands scheme. 
• Connecting families caring for a seriously ill child through our WellChild Family Tree.
• Funding groundbreaking initiatives and research to improve lives. 
• Enabling the voice of children and their families to be heard by decision makers.

´óÏó´«Ã½ with families is only made possible by the donations we receive from our supporters.

Wyatt, pictured here and whose story you hear in the appeal, was born with a hole in his diaphragm and serious problems with his lungs.  He spent the first five months of his life in hospital. Thanks to the help of his WellChild Nurse, Wyatt is now able to live at home and his parents have the support they need to be able meet Wyatt’s ongoing specialist ventilator-assisted breathing care.

Caring for a child needing long term medical care can feel quite lonely at times.  Having contact with other parents in a similar situation is an invaluable source of support for many, some even describing it as a lifeline.  WellChild Family Tree, offers safe places – both online and face to face – for families to come together to support and listen to each other, wherever they may be.

Photo shows Joseph (centre) enjoying life at home with his mum Anna, brothers Nate and Fran and their WellChild Children’s Nurse Diane Miles (far right)

WellChild Ambassador Gaby Roslin, who presents our appeal, is pictured here with three inspirational young ladies, Rosie Flory, Rachel Hooley, Cecilia Adamou (left to right) who all won a WellChild Award in 2014 in recognition of their courage, determination and inspirational spirit.

Families with a seriously ill child often find that projects in the home go unfinished, or never get started as their time and finances are so stretched.  This can mean that children are living in environments which are not suitable for their needs. WellChild’s programme is addressing this by using volunteers from companies and organisations to complete vital home and garden improvement projects – helping families in truly practical ways.

Photo shows Michaela and her family enjoying their renovated garden