The unique local charity for local children who have life threatening or terminal illnesses. The charity provides Care at Home for these children, with nursing and financial help for their families. THE SUSSEX SNOWDROP TRUST When a child is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the entire family and community is affected - Mothers and Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, Grandmothers and Grandfathers, Aunts, Uncles & Cousins, also school friends, family friends and neighbours. All are grateful for the support that The Sussex Snowdrop Trust is able to provide for the family, a family who is caring for a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. 'Snowdrop' helps families to cope with the day-to-day problems of caring for a very sick child by providing nursing, emotional and financial support, at home ........surely, the best place to be. In 1992, Dr Ann Wallace, the Community Paediatrician for the Chichester area, and Ward Sister Beth Connolly applied for a Government Grant to provide community care for seriously ill children, having researched the needs of families. From their research it was found that parents * wanted to know more about their child's illness. * They also asked if someone, possibly a qualified nurse, could give them some time off for themselves, and also so that they could give more time to caring for other children within the family * They wanted to be shown how to look after their child. e.g. To perform simple proceedures such as changing dressings and giving medicines To be shown how to feed their child particularly if they have a through a nasal -gastric tube. * They also said that they needed financial help, as caring for a very sick child put huge demands on their resources. Travelling to and from hospital was very expensive; household bills, such as electric and telephone costs increased during this stressful time. Some couples were in financial difficulty because the mother, who had been working, had to give up her job to look after the sick child. In other families, the father has to look after siblings and many want to be with their child when they are in hospital . Financially, enormous pressures are felt by many parents. Children diagnosed with a life threatening illness spend some time in hospital receiving treatment or undergoing an operation, but for most of their lives they are at home living life to the full. Since the charity was founded, if a child has become terminally ill, most children and parents have chosen to stay in their own home with the support of The Snowdrop Care at Home , who are available 24 hours. Kate Shaw and Diana Levantine, the Co-Founders of the charity, were made aware of these discrepancies in the local palliative care services for children, and as there were no funds available to help these special families, they launched 'The Sussex Snowdrop Trust' in 1993. Frank Snell, their Co-Founder and past Treasurer, sadly died in April 2004. The Sussex Snowdrop Trust is managed voluntarily by the Chairman Diana Levantine. She keeps in daily contact with the Team and every request made by a member of the Team for financial help for any of the 'Snowdrop' families, is acted on as quickly as possible. She also spends time in the Snowdrop Office in West Stoke with Jo Rule, the Office Manager , where all the fund raising events are organised, donations received and acknowledged, Newsletters written, etc etc . Fund raising for the charity is incredibly important as over £240,000 is spent annually on direct family care.. which includes employing the Care at Home Team of nurses and counsellors and the urgent financial help that is given to parents. The Chairman gives talks about the work of the Trust to Groups such as WI, Rotary, Lions, Schools etc. So, if you know anyone who manages the Speaker's diary for an organisation, and would like to hear more about the work of the Trust, please ring Jo Rule on 01243 572433 to arrange a convenient date/time etc. The Fundraising Committee, who are also the Trustees of the Trust, meet every month. They help at all events organised for the charity by other groups,clubs, churches, schools etc., and at all events organised by the Trust. TRUSTEES Mrs Geraldine Hamilton President Mrs Diana Levantine Chairman Mrs Pauline Blumer Mrs Ros Brandon Mrs Marylin Brooks Mrs Elizabeth Edwards Lady Miranda Emmet Mrs Rita Hope Mrs Kate Shaw Mrs Valerie Seddon The Sussex Snowdrop Trust Care at Home Team is based in Chichester. The entire staff of professionals, which is headed by Dr Ann Wallace, have their offices in Barnfield House, which is situated on St Richard's Hospital site. These are provided by the NHS. In 2006 we moved into our first administration office - the address is : 3 Kingley Centre Downs Road West Stoke Chichester West Sussex PO18 9HJ Tel & Fax No : 01243 572433 e-mail address : sussexsnowdrop@btconnect.com Registered Charity No 1096622 Registered Limited Company (Limited by Guarantee)No 4557686 Civic Awards were awarded to Kate Shaw and Diana Levantine in February 2008 by the Mayor and Councillors of the Chichester Council. THE QUEENS AWARD In 2005 The Lord Lieutenant of Sussex, Hugh Wyatt, presented The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services to Kate Shaw and Di Levantine, the Co-Founders of The Sussex Snowdrop Trust, who had been nominated by local people who appreciated their tireless and voluntary management of the charity over the previous 12 years During a very special ceremony held at Ede’s House in Chichester, the Clerk to the Lord Lieutenant read out a citation signed by The Queen, in the presence of The High Sheriff of West Sussex,Gordon Treagust; the Chairman of West Sussex County Council, Cllr. Margaret Johnson; the Chairman of Chichester District Council, Cllr. John Ridd; Lady Barttelot; Mr Graham Ferguson, and other invited guests. In their speeches, Di and Kate dedicated the Award to all volunteers who have worked in many different ways for the charity : - the exceptional Snowdrop Committee, many of whom have been members since the charity was founded in 1992 - the Snowdrop Volunteers, who give so much of their free time to support the families - many other people in the community who have supported the charity by raising money and helping at events . Following the Award Ceremony, Mike Shone, a previous Mayor of Chichester, who had chosen Snowdrop as his Mayor’s Charity, presented a cheque for £2,000 this being part of the £8,000 which had been raised from several events during his time in Office.