Acorns Children’s Hospice has benefited from a significant grant to support its vital work caring for hundreds of local families impacted by Covid-19.

The charity is one of just 100 across the UK to have received £100,000 from the Barclays Covid-19 Community Aid Package – a nationwide scheme designed to support charities working in the communities hardest hit by the pandemic.    The grant will be put towards Acorns ongoing work providing emotional and practical care and support for hundreds of families across the West Midlands, work which has become ever-more needed for those impacted by the global health crisis.   Emma Aspinall, Director of Care at Acorns, said: “We are hugely grateful to Barclays for this significant grant towards our work. Acorns supports hundreds of families every year who are caring for children with complex conditions.   “The pandemic has greatly intensified the challenges that many families already face - increased stress and anxiety, increased isolation and a strain on mental wellbeing. The grant will make a huge difference and help ensure Acorns can continue providing the support that families need, whenever they need it.”   Acorns Family Services Team based across its three hospices in Walsall, Birmingham and Worcester, provide specially tailored care and support for parents, grandparents and siblings - work which includes advocating on behalf of families and signposting to other services.

During the pandemic, the Team has been adapting its vital services for families, providing virtual support-group sessions and helping to coordinate deliveries of food and essentials to isolating families.

Nigel Higgins, Barclays Chairman, said: “Covid-19 has created an unprecedented social and economic impact in the UK, with many experiencing greater hardship due to the crisis. Incredible charities, such as Acorns have been playing a vital role in the UK’s response to the pandemic, ensuring urgent help reaches those most in need of support.

“As a bank we have been doing all we can for our customers, clients and colleagues, and we hope that by partnering with the Acorns and many other charities across the UK, collectively we can ensure that as many people as possible in the communities in which we live and work are supported through this crisis.”

Over the past year Acorns has cared for more than 800 children and 1,000 families, including those who are bereaved.

It costs the charity around £10 million to provide its services and it relies on fundraising for the bulk of this amount.

to find out more about Acorns, visit www.acorns.org.uk