Ava Clark, 5 from South Woodham Ferrers and Isla Fulcher, 10 from Leigh-on-sea took part in an art competition organised by Tokio Marine Kiln – an international insurance company based in London – where Ava’s father and Isla’s mother work and won in the category for their age groups where they were able to choose a charity to benefit if they won.

Families of the staff members from the company were invited to send in their artwork which they had made during lockdown, so Ava sent in her creation of a dragon that breathes out hearts and Isla sent in her Harry Potter themed creation.

Ava chose Little Havens to donate the money to after remembering one of the charity’s fundraisers coming into the school to speak about the charity’s care.

Her father David Clark said, “Ava was inspired to create a Rainbow Dragon that breathes out hearts because she wanted to spread some love during this lockdown period. She wanted her dragon to “fight” diseases by breathing hearts at poorly people.

“When she was asked to choose a charity, she said Little Havens without hesitation. Last year the school she attends – Heathcote School -had nominated Little Havens as their Charity of the Year and Ava remembered the representative from the charity who visited their assembly and spoke about the fairy garden at Little Havens and all the other wonderful facilities for the children at the hospice.”

Isla wanted to donate the money to her local children’s charity. She said, “I had just started to get into Harry Potter and we had some cardboard boxes, so thought it would be a cool thing to make. I chose Little Havens because it is our local children’s hospice and I wanted to donate the money so they could get some nice things for the children, or to just help them out. It would be nice to visit some time to see what it’s like and meet the children.”

Jane Hopkins, Voluntary Income Area Team Leader at Havens Hospices said, “We are incredibly grateful to both Ava and Isla for thinking of Little Havens as the charity they would like to donate their £4,000 to, an amazing £8,000 in total.

“It is so heart-warming to know that our local community continues to support us during these difficult times where our income has taken a major hit due to the pandemic.

“This gift will help us continue ‘Making every day count’ for the children and families we care for and we hope Ava and Isla will be able to come and visit Little Havens when it is safe to do so, to see how their money has helped our patients and their families.”

Little Havens Hospice remains open to care for patients at the end of their life and has suspended all face to face respite, treatments and social activities as it’s safer for their vulnerable patients to stay at home. However Little Havens is still offering telephone and video call support where they can, along with online music therapy, even if they can’t be there in person.

Havens Hospices’ care doesn’t stop during the pandemic, so neither can its fundraising. To find out more about how you can fundraise for Havens Hospices visit www.havenshospices.org.uk/fundraising