The Birmingham Publicity Association reveals four figure lockdown donation to Acorns Children’s Hospice

A donation of £5,000 has been handed over to Acorns Children’s Hospice during lockdown to help them through the Covid-19 Crisis.

The group, which brings together the media, advertising and creative industries from across the city, and beyond, had hoped to raise money for the charity this year through its various fundraising efforts and networking events they had planned. But due to the Covid-19 lockdown, the calendar of events has had to be put on hold.

However, the group has been determined to continue supporting its chosen charity Acorns Children’s Hospice, and made the decision to donate the money regardless and have vowed to just work even harder to raise more money for the charity when restrictions have been lifted.

The first year of the partnership has been hailed a success and money will be going straight to the charity, which earlier this year had revealed it was may have to close its Walsall hospice due to financial pressures. This threat has been lifted now.

BPA chair Mark McDonagh said: “We were determined to be able to continue to support Acorns, despite the current climate. They are still supporting hundreds of families throughout the Midlands and we wanted to make sure they knew we were still there for them.

“It was scheduled that this December we would  hand over donations at the end of calendar year at our Christmas lunch, however we are in the position to bring it forward and donate a part of it immediately, and at the AGM recent call it was a unanimous decision by the whole Council,” he said.

BPA Events are currently on pause at the moment, however they will be promoting the revised calendar in the next few weeks.

Last year the BPA donated a total of £10,000 at its annual Christmas ball held at the Park Regis, which was attended by hundreds of people from within the creative industries in the Midlands and beyond.

Vicki Rowles, Head of Fundraising at Acorns, said: “We can’t thank the BPA enough for this amazing donation. We know what a challenging time this is for everyone, so we’re beyond grateful for their continued support for Acorns and the children and families who need us.

“With the help of organisations like the BPA we can be there for all of the families who rely on our care and support, now and long into the future.”

 Amid the current challenges facing the nation, Acorns is continuing to provide emergency and end of life hospice care as well as emotional and practical support to hundreds of families who are in strict isolation at home.

In March, the charity published its emergency response for Covid-19, prioritising care for the most vulnerable children and their families and setting aside its hospice in the Black Country for children from local hospitals with complex care needs to help acute trusts maximise their intensive care capability.

As well as this, the charity temporarily closed its hospice in Birmingham and offered the facility for use in the emergency response.

The BPA supports the media and creative industries in the region, while raising money for key charities that its members wish to support. Its members include global organisations to sole traders, graduate trainees right up to CEOs and MDs, media owners and agencies, advertising and marketing agencies, digital agencies, PR agencies and freelancers.

To find out how you can stand with Acorns as it continues to care for some of the most vulnerable children and families in the community, please visit www.acorns.org.uk/together