Local community explores Shooting Star House on Open Day

The local community in Hampton learned about the breadth of services, met some of the dedicated team and explored facilities at Shooting Star House in Hampton at the Open Day on Saturday 22 June.

This was the first Open Day Shooting Star Children’s Hospices have hosted in several years, which coincided with Children’s Hospice Week, an annual week which celebrates children’s hospice and palliative care services across communities in the UK.

Throughout the week, Shooting Star championed the theme ‘Opening Doors, Dispelling Myths’, aiming to shed light on how the charity opens doors to a world of compassionate care and vital support for families, as well as their mission to breakdown common misconceptions about children’s hospices. Something we hope visitors found by attending the Open Day.

More than 100 people attended across the morning and afternoon sessions, where they discovered the hydrotherapy pool, counselling rooms and garden, as well as participated in numerous activities including toy tombola, outdoor games, arts and crafts.

The retail team also created a pop-up shop for visitors to buy donated goods.

Laura Whittle, Individual Giving Manager, said, “We had such an amazing day welcoming local supporters to join us at Shooting Star House for our Open Day.

“It was wonderful to have Shooting Star banners pitched outside the hospice welcoming everyone on the day. 118 members of the local community joined us, including people who were just passing by and noticed that we were open.

“We had such wonderful feedback from the supporters who attended. They particularly loved the self-guided tour as it allowed them to explore all our facilities and learn more about our vital work.

“We also had two memory making demonstrations that our Family Support Workers, Vikki and Darpreet, kindly organised. This gave our supporters a chance to ask questions and learn more about our new bereavement service.

“It was also a great opportunity to collaborate with our Family Support, Volunteer, Housekeeping, Administration and Fundraising teams and work closely together. I feel so proud to work alongside such an incredible and inspiring team.

“A huge thank you to everyone who was involved, we could not have done it without you!

“A special thank you to Katie Harverson, Shooting Star Children’s Hospices Supporter Care Coordinator, who coordinated the day and thought of all the little details that made the day so special.”