THE Yelverton and District Friends’ Group of the Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) is hosting an auction of pledges on Saturday, February 20 to mark 25 years of the charity.

Walkhampton Village Hall will host the pledge auction at 6.45pm. Ward and Chowen is supporting the charity by conducting the auction themselves.

There are well over 110 lots in the auction ranging from six eggs to rugby or theatre tickets.

For a quarter of a century CHSW has offered help and support to thousands of life-limited children and their families across the region. In addition to emergency and end of life care, many families use CHSW for much needed respite care.

‘Without the hospice, I simply don’t know how I would have coped’ is a comment often made by families. Mandy Robbins, director of care at CHSW said: ‘There is still a huge message to put out there about what is the reality of CHSW. We have so many families that are fearful or worried about what staying in a hospice signifies, but the minute that they step through the door and the warmth of welcome that greets them, they all say ‘I wish I had come sooner’.

‘On average a child staying with us will have 12 medicine administrations per day. But spare a thought for the families when they are at home and how disruptive this can be to everyday life.

‘There is no chance of sitting and relaxing because you are always mindful of when the next medicine is due. No wonder parents say that they love their visits to the hospice as that is when they can stop being a ‘nurse’ and become a ‘mum’ or a ‘dad’ again.’

It costs £8-million each year to fund the services at CHSW’s three hospices in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, and the charity relies almost entirely on voluntary funding. In addition to the nursing and care support, the hospices offer holistic therapy with special sensory rooms, arts and crafts rooms, soft play facilities, and hydrotherapy pools. There’s also a dedicated sibling support service, so the whole family is looked after.

If you would like to know more about the work of the hospice, each hospice offers monthly open days. These days are extremely popular and tours have to be pre-booked. For more information see www.chsw.org.uk/open days.