A FACILITY that provides free accommodation to families who have children in hospital has received a welcome donation thanks to three enterprising Wirral women.

Entrepreneurial Wirral trio Tracey Bleasdale from Birkenhead, Ria Cairns from Leasowe and Fay Murphy from Tranmere set up a Facebook page called “Raising Money for Children in Hospital” in April 2012.

The page allows people to donate unwanted items which are then resold by the three friends to raise money to buy much-needed supplies for local charities.

The latest beneficiary of their kind-hearted efforts was Ronald McDonald House Arrowe Park, which provides free “home away from home” accommodation for families who have children receiving treatment at Arrowe Park Hospital.

House manager Cathy Churchill was on-hand on April 8 to receive a donation of pots, pans, toys and other supplies that were purchased by Tracy, Ria and Fay using money raised through their Facebook page.

Toys and supplies were also delivered to Arrowe Park Hospital’s children’s ward and accident and emergency department, as well as the children's ward at St Catherine's Hospital.

The three friends set up the Facebook page after Fay suggested that the accident and emergency department at Arrowe Park would benefit from some toys for children to play with.

Their efforts struck a chord with the local community which rallied to support their fundraising efforts – and the Facebook page now has more than 900 members who donate and buy items to raise money for local good causes.

“We are just normal mums and grandparents who want to do something to bring the community together,” explained Tracey.

“The response from friends, family and others in the community has been wonderful and we are all working flat out to keep the Facebook page updated and the donations coming in.

“We are so grateful for the support we have had, but still need lots of donations of unwanted possessions from local people and businesses so that we can carry on raising money”.

The Facebook page – Raising for Children’s Hospital – can be found here.
For more information about Ronald McDonald House Arrowe Park, visit rmhc.org.uk/arrowepark