Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries has teamed up with The Pepper Foundation to help support a hospice at home care very close to our hearts.
(Picture – Richard Blunden CEO Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries)
It’s important to give back to our local community and help others where we can, that’s why Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries have continued to donate, fundraise and support a local charity called ‘The Pepper Foundation’ in Tring. After reviewing many local charities, discussing who we want to support, why we want to and how we will – we finally reached a unanimous decision to support a foundation very close to our hearts.
The Pepper Foundation was set up to help fund a children’s hospice at home service where there wasn’t one previously. The nursing service is delivered by Rennie Grove Hospice and helps alleviate the suffering of children with complex health needs or life limiting conditions through the provision of free home care support.
Like us, you can help by fundraising, volunteering or donating to the Foundation, and really make a difference to a special someone’s life. We kick started our support by donating £1000 in December 2020, this was a contribution from our fabulous head office team as well as Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries Ltd. However, the support isn’t going to stop there, we are determined to continue our efforts, whether it be fundraising, donating or simply lending a hand where we can.
Jessica’s Story
With over 49,000 babies, children, and young people in the UK living with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition, the strain on the families of those children can be enormous.
The nurses that the Pepper Foundation funds provide specialist children’s hospice at home care, offering everything from respite care to emotional support. With the Covid-19 pandemic potentially cutting families off from other in-person services, the service we fund has become even more essential.
The nursing team we fund helped Jessica and her family. Jessica has Leigh Syndrome, a mitochondrial disease that causes her cells to die because they have insufficient energy to keep functioning.
After the shock of Jessica’s diagnosis, her parents were sick with worry and didn’t know where to turn to. Soon they were referred to the children’s hospice at home service “and our guardian angel appeared”, as Jessica’s mum Vicky said.
One of the specialist Children’s Nurses, Liz, became the lynchpin of all of their support. Liz not only provided care for Jessica but showed the family how to deal with situations they previously would have made an emergency trip to the hospital for. Liz also made arrangements for specialist equipment, and accompanied the family to hospital appointments.
The money that Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery donated to The Pepper Foundation directly helps children like Jessica. In fact, a thousand pounds would fund 35 hours of specialist nursing care – that could mean 3 months of vital home respite visits for the family of a child like Jessica.