Keech cottage started in 2000 when the Keech family gave a million pounds towards the hospice. The cottage was first built as a chapel but is now used as a children's hospice and is situated on the same land as the adult hospice.
To help us understand what Keech Cottage is about, we had a fundraiser come to visit and tell us about what they do and what their aim is. She was really nice and answered all our questions and queries. She also told us about a fundraising event in the near future and asked us if we would like to go and raise some money for them, in a sponsored walk. Some of us might go along and get sponsored to walk three, five or eight miles.

What is Keech Cottage and what does it do? Keech cottage is there to help families who have terminally ill children and children who have life limiting illnesses. In situations like this everyone needs some help and support to cope. The parents have to look after their child most of the time and sometimes they just need a break. The parents get to know that Keech cottage is a safe place to leave their children if they want to go out for the night or if they want to spend some time with them in a place that is fully equipped for all their needs. The ill children also need specialised care, attention and the dedicated staff help the child to live as much as they can in the amount of time that they have. Also they help any other siblings that may be feeling left out when their brother or sister gets all the attention and try to help them understand what is happening to their brother or sister.
Keech cottage also helps families who have faced the loss of their child, as the whole family needs love and support in this time of need. Keech helps families with these problems for as long as the family wants.
The hospice can hold five-day patients and three-night patients due to the shortage of staff, if they had more workers and carers they could sleep five patients and their families. There are only a few people who get paid as most of the work is voluntary.
Dennis and Shirley the people who gave the donation in the beginning still visit the hospice because they are major supporters and to see how it's doing. Sponsors, donations both small and large and a small amount from the government is needed to keep the hospice running. It needs over one-and-a-half million pounds each year to keep going and although they normally have enough for specialised equipment, the areas that they need money for are the basic things like electricity bills, water bills and money for the more everyday things.
The hospice has a hydrotherapy pool, which has lights and music in the water that helps stimulate the children and the adults and is kept really warm so is more comfortable for the patients. There are lots of people who work at the hospice like therapists, doctors, fundraisers, gardeners, house keepers and specialist people i.e. music therapists etc.
The hospice helps about 85 families who have sick children and 63 families who have lost children in a year and will support them as much as possible without charging them anything.
The best way to support the hospice is to join in with the sponsored events, give small amounts of money each month, some people give money instead of getting presents and you can help in that sort of way.

The women we interviewed was called Hillary and she said she used to be a brownie and was in the sprites, she also said her daughter was in the brownies as well.
If you wish to visit Keech Cottage, then on the second Wednesday of every month there is a visiting day where you can go and have a look around; they do both morning and evening 'tours'. You can find out more on their website at www.pasque.org/child.html The Pasque Charity supports both the adult hospice-Pasque Hospice, and the children's-Keech Cottage and both would greatly appreciate any amount of money of any help you are willing to give.
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