The Tim Henman Foundation has presented a £20,000 grant to Naomi House & Jacksplace, the region’s specialist hospices for children and young adults with life limiting and life threatening conditions.
The £20,000 was kindly donated following a grant application to the Foundation that focused on funding for the charity’s ‘Days at Jacks’ service. This service is offered to all cognitively able children who transition from Naomi House, the children’s hospice, up to Jacksplace, the hospice for young adults. Young adults usually transition between the ages of 16-18.
This weekly service aims to increase the general well-being of young adults through further education around independence skills. The service allows young adults to experience more decision-making and consider their options when it comes to employment, social interaction and preferences around their personal palliative care. It is a life-enhancing service that has been funded by the Tim Henman Foundation since 2016.
The Tim Henman Foundation has supported Naomi House & Jacksplace since 2008 and has so far donated over £74,500. Lucy Henman, Tim’s wife, championed the relationship between the hospice charity and the Foundation, after friends of hers used Naomi House & Jacksplace’s end of life services for their child. Lucy and Tim also visited the hospices in 2016 to learn more about the charity and meet some of the young adults staying.
Mark Smith, Chief Executive of Naomi House & Jacksplace, commented:
The continued support from the Tim Henman Foundation is greatly appreciated by all at Naomi House & Jacksplace, especially the young adults who benefit from this vital service. Allowing these young people the space, sanctuary and safety to be able to explore these somewhat challenging areas of life, with unrivalled support from our care team, is extremely important and we are so pleased and grateful that the Tim Henman Foundation are supporting us again for 2020. Thank you to Tim Henman, Lucy Henman, Richard Garrett and everyone involved in the Foundation for helping us support some of the most seriously ill young adults across the south.
Richard Garrett, CEO, The Tim Henman Foundation, commented:
We are delighted to support this wonderful initiative. We have been inspired by the work that Naomi House & Jacksplace in giving opportunities to life threatened and limited young people. The Tim Henman Foundation likes to make a real impact with our limited resources through our Special Needs Programme.
The Foundation also showed their support by inviting young adults from Jacksplace to their annual Pro-Am Tennis Tournament, back in 2017. This event led onto the Foundation securing Dan Gillespie Sells, lead singer of English rock band, The Feeling, to perform at a Naomi House & Jacksplace’s Summer Soiree in the summer of 2018.
Naomi House & Jacksplace hospices provide respite, emergency, end of life and bereavement support to hundreds of children and young adults with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions in Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight. The hospices, located near Winchester, offer 24 hour care to the region’s most medically vulnerable youngsters. For more information visit www.naomihouse.org.uk
Photo: Young adults from Jacksplace with Tim Henman and other professional tennis players at the Pro-Am Tennis Tournament 2017
