In January 2019 the shopping centre chose Little Havens as their charity partner and have organised and taken part in various events to raise money for children with complex and incurable conditions in Essex.

These included various staff fundraising activities, such as bake sales and Easter bonnet competitions, as well as three staff members taking on the challenge of cycling an incredible 207 miles from Thundersley to Bruges in Belgium – which raised a total of £4,991 for the charity. Other successful initiatives included Christmas and Valentines gift wrapping services for customers with all donations going to the charity.

Additionally, intu Lakeside were awarded the intu Chairman’s Prize for the fantastic fundraising which took place throughout 2019 and were awarded £4,000, which bought special shaped floor cushions and steps for the surrounding area of the existing ball pool at Little Havens.

Some of the shops inside the centre, including Primark, Body Shop, Casco Lounge, Chicktopia and Hollywood Bowl have also generously supported the charity through donations and collections.

Rachel Hawksworth, Voluntary Income Area Team Leader said, “We are so thankful to intu Lakeside and the other partners for their generous and continued support over the past 18 months – they have really pushed the boat out with some fantastic fundraising activities to support their local children’s hospice.

“Because of their constant hard work, generosity and enthusiasm they have manged to raise this huge total for Little Havens and we cannot thank them enough. This money will help us continue to provide specialist care to babies, children and teenagers and their families, especially during these difficult times. We have loved working in partnership with them and we hope this relationship can continue in the future.”

Howard Oldstein, Centre Director at intu Lakeside said, “Being a people business, guided by our culture and values, supporting the local community is a huge part of what we do at intu Lakeside. Our 18-month partnership with Little Havens has been a great success in raising valuable and much needed funds for this local charity.  We have been proud to support such an amazing organisation, with many of our team using volunteering hours to help support them, we wish Little Havens every success in the future and hope they can continue the amazing work they do.”

Little Havens and Fair Havens In-Patient Units remain open to care for patients at the end of their life and the charity is also supporting the NHS by helping to reduce pressure and free up acute beds and staff.

Havens Hospices’ free care can only continue thanks to donations made by kind supporters. With all public fundraising events postponed or cancelled, the charity is relying on gifts – whatever the amount – to keep caring.

Visit www.havenshospices.org.uk/donate or the charity’s social media channels @HavensHospices for ideas on how to support the charity.

***Please note that this photograph was taken earlier in the year, before the Coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures were introduced.