Morrisons’ £10M partnership with Together for Short Lives aids Francis House

A partnership between the UK’s children’s palliative care charity Together for Short Lives and Morrisons has raised £10,722,514 for children’s hospices across the UK including Francis House, after nearly three years of fundraising.

Through the support of 20 local Morrisons stores from across the north west, Francis House has received almost £120,000 since the partnership began in February 2022. This figure is expected to rise to £200,000 when the final donations are received.

Francis House Children’s Hospice is based in Didsbury, Manchester but works to support more than 600 families and children from across the north west region who have life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

Throughout the partnership, colleagues at Morrisons stores have been raising vital funds for children’s hospices like Francis House by participating in sponsored walks, abseils, zip wires, runs, tombola’s, games, in-store collections and more.

Community Champions from a number of the stores attended a celebration event at the hospice in Didsbury.

David Ireland, chief executive at Francis House, expressed his thanks at the end of the partnership, saying: “My thanks to Morrisons on behalf of the children, young people and families of Francis House. Everything you did to raise money will help these families. They come through the doors and see this place as a holiday home – the one place where they are really supported and can trust.

“Parents can come here to relax and the whole family are cared for. The siblings too know that they are just as important as the poorly child and that they will be looked after and supported.

“To have received £119,000 from the Together for Short Lives and Morrisons partnership was something I never imagined could happen. What you have done through your stores, your customers, friends and families has made such a difference to 600 local families. A big thank you from the families and a huge well done from the staff.”

Julie Williams, senior fundraising officer of Francis House said: “Thank you Morrisons for a wonderful partnership, we not only worked together to help support Francis House but we also became friends. I have loved working with you all. The team and I have enjoyed coming to visit all the stores and bringing along our mascot Francis Mouse.”

Melina Johnson and Nicola Nugent from Morrisons Cheadle received a gold butterfly from Together for Short Lives for raising £27,000 – the highest amount from any store partnered with Francis House.

Melina said: “The relationship between us and Julie and the team from Francis House made it easier to work together. It made it more personal to know that we were raising money for local families.”

Across the UK, thanks to the Morrisons partnership, Together for Short Lives has created memories through events and activities for more than 6,000 family members, reached more than 1,400 new families through their community outreach work and enabled hospices to purchase new equipment, provide thousands of hours of care and more.

Together for Short Lives CEO, Nick Carroll said: “The Morrisons partnership has allowed us to raise millions for children’s hospices across the UK, just like Francis House, which are a lifeline to seriously ill children and their families. We are extremely grateful for the support of Morrisons colleagues and customers.”

Alison Cox from Morrisons Dukinfield, crossed the water at Salford Quays on a zip wire to make her own contribution and raised £780. She said: “Francis House has been wonderful, thank you so much, we will miss working with you. It’s been a fabulous partnership, like a family. I was frightened about coming along to the hospice when we were first invited to see what we were fundraising for. But when we did the tour, all my apprehension went, it feels like a home. It wasn’t a sad place; everyone I met was happy.”

Community Champion Becky Teeney also from Morrisons in Dukinfield said: “It’s been brilliant to see through from start to finish and Julie Williams has been a star, we felt like we were all working towards a common goal.”

Community champion at the Morrisons Buxton store, Robert Harrison said: “It has been great working with Francis House and the team from Together for Short Lives. I even got to be the mascot for Francis House on a visit to the store but more than anything the hospice and the other 53 like it around the country provide a real lifeline and support network to so many families.”