Two years after the city of Liverpool raised millions to save the Zoe's Place baby hospice, the rebranded charity Little Lights is asking the people of Liverpool to support it once more as it prepares to move into a new facility.
The original campaign, backed by the generosity of Tom Morris and Home Bargains, raised £5m in a month and a total of £7.5m to fund a state-of-the-art facility for very unwell babies, children and their families. Since then, the hospice in West Derby has broken away from the wider charity, adopted a new leadership structure, and been renamed Little Lights, a name revealed at a concert at the M&S Bank Arena last summer.
New hospice under construction
Work is progressing on the new hospice, located on the site of the former West Derby Bowling Club at Hayman's Green. The facility is due to be completed next spring. The ECHO was given a tour of the new building this week.
Christian Logue, the new chief executive of Little Lights, said the city's response to the campaign two years ago was unique. "I think from what happened a couple of years ago - and it was one of the reasons why I actually joined - what actually happened, I don't think would happen in any other city in this country," he said. "The city made a decision that wasn't going to let this place disappear from its horizon."
Why the name changed
Logue explained that the name change was necessary because the hospice was one of three within the Zoe's Place Trust. "There was an agreement in place around how it could be separated as a separate charitable organisation, but we needed to have our own name that was part of the brand," he said. "We've now got to make sure that everybody knows that Little Lights is Zoe's Place, and that brand equity is actually maintained and we don't lose any of that traction."
Running the hospice costs £2m each year, with only about 15 to 20 percent coming from statutory funding. The rest must be raised by the charity itself. Logue acknowledged that the success of the earlier campaign has created a challenge in re-engaging donors. "There was such a groundswell, and I think there's lots of people and maybe lots of businesses that think, 'Well actually, I've done that. So it's all right, it's fine again,'" he said.
Doubling capacity
The new facility will double the hospice's capacity and allow it to offer additional services, including rebound therapy and a cinema. It will also include two Snowdrop Suites, private end-of-life spaces for families. "In that situation which we hope none of us as parents would ever have to deal with—if your child does pass away, you've got an ability to spend time as a family with your child in an environment where you're still supported," Logue said.
Little Lights is seeking regular donors through its Little Lights Guardians programme and has launched a six-month campaign called 'Lighting the Way, Building Hope' to re-engage the city. Logue described the next six months as "seismic" as the charity prepares to move into its new home. West Derby MP Ian Byrne said Little Lights was "built on the back of city's efforts," adding, "We have to carry on supporting it and I know we will."
