Top of page
You are here:
Home How we help Making an impact

How we make an impact for families

Our expert nursing care and bespoke family services are needed now more than ever.

It’s only through the generosity of our supporters that we can keep being there for families - take a look at the difference your support has made over the last year.

A woman with blonde hair and glasses smiling while helping a young boy on a tablet play the piano

Welcome from our CEO, Lavinia Jarrett

This year, you’ve helped us achieve the extraordinary. But we need your support more than ever before. Hear from our CEO about the impact you’ve made and how you can help us continue providing care to families who need it most.

Why we are here

Learn more about our mission, values and vision.

A visual representation of our impact in numbers - The care you helped provide
A visual representation of our impact in numbers - The support you made possible
A visual representation of our impact in numbers - The places you helped us reach
A visual representation of our impact in numbers - The money you raised

The families you supported

Families are at the heart of everything we do. Hear from families and discover how you’ve helped them get the personalised care and support they need, when and where they need it most.

Image of Leo and Hettie making pizza
Family stories
Leo's story

Leo spent months in hospital after being diagnosed with leukaemia and developing graft-versus-host disease, leaving him unable to eat, drink or walk. Leo made a full recovery and Demelza has been there for him and his family providing care, support and some much-needed fun!

Find out more
A family of four, one mum, one dad and two younger children outside Buckingham Palace smiling at the camera
Family stories
Jude's story

Within a year, Jude went from being a healthy nine-year-old, to not being able to walk or talk and needing a ventilator to help him breathe. Demelza’s support has meant his family have found ways to keep making amazing memories together.

Find out more
A child in a blue shirt and yellow shorts on a boat smiling towards the camera with a thumbs up
Family stories
Joshua's story

Joshua died from an aggressive form of cancer just days before his 13th birthday. He came to Demelza’s bereavement suite, where his family could spend more precious time together and be with him on his last birthday.

Find out more
A woman and a child in Santa outfits looking at snow in the woman's hands

An extraordinary Christmas

Christmas means so much to us at Demelza, and last year was truly magical. We’re so grateful for your generosity of everyone who supported us, especially as we know times are tough. But the reality is, we need more support to be able to keep on giving families the care they need. We need YOU to make this Christmas extraordinary.

This year, come to an event, donate to our Christmas appeal or fundraise for us – whatever you do, you really can help us make this the best Christmas yet.

Thank you

We couldn’t be there for families without you.

You have run, skydived, bubble-rushed, donated, volunteered, fundraised, shopped, shared our stories and given us non-stop support.

You make everything we do possible. Thank you!

A group of swimmers in a swimming pool getting ready to swim

Maidstone Riverside Rotary Club

Maidstone Riverside Rotary Club hosted their annual Swim Relay in aid of Demelza on Sunday 23 March 2025. They had over 40 teams of around 230 swimmers take part, swimming 1967 lengths (nearly 31 miles!) in 20 minutes.

A group of people who work for Rye Bay Caravan Park holding up a cheque for £4027.73 for Demelza

Rye Bay Caravan Park

Rye Bay Caravan Park supported Demelza with lots of amazing events in 2025, including bingo, a coffee morning, a bake sale and a Family Fun Day, where they ran a toy tombola, pebble painting and a raffle!

Two women holding up a Demelza banner infront of a bouncy castle

Wincheap Primary School

Wincheap Primary School got all year groups involved in fundraising for Demelza during their summer term last year. They came up with fun and crazy fundraisers, including a bouncy castle challenge, a sponsored walk along the river, a fancy dress-a-thon and a classic bake sale!

Three women with Demelza lanyards on smiling towards the camera

Pam and Sandra

Volunteer fundraisers Pam and Sandra have supported us for many years, booking Demelza stalls at numerous events and running fundraising activities such as tombolas, raffles, cake sales and an annual Bluebell Walk. Sandra also completed a Fire Walk to raise even more funds for Demelza!

Two women smiling at a camera holding paint brushes in their hand while painting a sculpture of a rabbit

Judge and Priestley

Judge and Priestley have supported us for the last two years, with their staff volunteering with us for over 300 hours. They are always creative in their fundraising too - this year, they bought one of our Trail with a Tale sculptures and ran a staff design competition to decorate it!

A visual representation of our impact in numbers - Who supports us?

A special thank you to our supporters

We can’t possibly name everyone that has supported us this year, but this is a snapshot of some of the incredible organisations that have kindly donated to us or offered us their time, skills or expertise. From all of us at Demelza, thank you.

AIM Commercial Cleaning, Anthony Gold, Axis Europe, Belron Ronnie Lubner Charitable Foundation, Bensted's Charity, Berkeley, Berkeley Foundation, Blue Rocket Accounting, Brendan and Kirstie Peilow, Canary Wharf Contractors, Chalk Cliff Trust, CMS Law, Comparison Technologies, Countryside Recycling, Data Tech Holdings, Eastbourne Board Gamers, Edward Vinson 1957 Charity Settlement, E&N Group, Esquire Developments, GFP Lewis, Goldex Investments, Infinity Group, John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust, Judge & Priestley, Kent Reliance, Khipu Networks Ltd, Lisa & David McNulty, Lund Trust, Maidstone Riverside Relay, Mayor of Winchelsea, MEMS Power Generation, Millcroft Services PLC, Mitie, Mrs Bela & Mr Chandrakant Jadeja, NCPI Solutions, NHBC, Olly and the Phat Dads team, Pam Robinson, Peter Cosstick, , Postcode Lottery Millionaire Street Funds, RedDuck Campaign, Royal Bank of Canada, Sandra Young, Shirley Friends, The Albert Hunt Trust, The Brian and June Amos Foundation, The Fairstead Trust, The February Foundation, The Frank Brake Charitable Trust, The Freddie Green and Family Foundation, The Hardy Family Foundation, The Kenora Charitable Foundation, The Lawson Trust, The Madden family, The Pack Foundation, The Postcode Lottery players, The Seaby Foundation, The Spence family, The Sunshine Girls, The Sunshine Pro-Am, The Vintners' Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation, Unigloves, Vistry Group, Wincheap Foundation Primary School, Workplace Creations.

Donate to your local children's hospice today

Your generosity helps provide expert clinical care, emotional support and practical help during the most challenging times. By donating to Demelza today, you can help to give families time, space and compassion when it matters most.