Established by Chris and Philippa Purrington after the death of their baby daughter, Jessie May, the trust provides nursing care at home for children who have a terminal illness and are not expected to live beyond the age of 19.
Many of the children cared for by the trust have extremely severe physical and learning disabilities, needing specialist 24-hour care.
This can place a huge strain on the family, quite apart from coming to terms with the reality that your child is not expected to reach adulthood. The charity is ‘forgotten’; it receives no statutory funding at all and relies entirely on voluntary contributions, obtained through grant making trusts, private sector and the community.
Forgotten Children has donated £75,000 over three years to help maintain and develop the charity’s services, in particular by increasing the number of qualified Jessie May nurses.