Sainsbury's raises over £27,000 for Rainbows Over 250 children and their families will benefit from a £27,200 donation raised by Sainsbury's stores across the East Midlands.

Since October last year, staff and customers at 16 local Sainsbury's stores have raised the much-needed funds for Rainbows Children's Hospice through a variety of sponsored events, collecting in store from generous customers and support from local groups who already work closely with Sainsbury's including local Scouts and Browie Groups, the Cadet Force and other local clubs.

Rainbows support many life-limited children and their families who come to the hospice each year. At least £4 million is needed for Rainbows' new 'Building for the Future' which will modernise and expand the existing hospice facilities and provide additional bedrooms for children, a new bedroom wing for young people as well as a state of the art therapy centre which will include a hydrotherapy pool. A family support lounge and training facilities will also be included in the new build.

Patricia Brookes, Rainbows' Director of Fundraising, said, "This is an outstanding donation and will be put towards our new extension. Donations like this are essential for us to not only help with appeals such as 'Building for the Future', but also to raise the £2.8 million Rainbows needs each year to continue providing care to the children and families who need us. We cannot express how delighted we are by the support that Sainsbury's has given."

Richard Wilcox, Community Lead at Sainsbury's added, "Rainbows Children's Hospice is a very deserving charity, which works hard to support children and their families through difficult times. Here at Sainsbury's we wanted to show our support for such a great cause and feel we have proven that large companies like ourselves can make a big difference to important regional charities.

"We intend to continue supporting Rainbows throughout 2009 and hope to be making further sizeable donations in the future, all made possible by Sainsbury's customers and dedicated staff."

Patricia Brookes concluded, "This year is a milestone for Rainbows. To date we have helped as many children as possible, but at times we have been restricted due to space and funding. Being able to offer double the amount of beds will mean we can help twice the amount of families. We hope that local businesses continue to support us in order to ensure the 'Building for the Future' project is a success."

For more information on the Building for the Future project or to make a donation, please visit www.rainbowshospice.org.uk

22 Sainsbury's employees and representatives from 16 East Midlands stores (Arnold, Ashbourne, Beeston, Belgrave, Burton, Castle Boulevard, Chaddesden, Derby, Fosse Park, Glen Road, Kimberley, Kingsway, Loughborough, Osmaston Park, Swadlincote, Wigston) presented a cheque to Rainbows.