Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice had some VIP visitors as internationally renowned artist and author Oliver Jeffers dropped in to unveil a specially created mural at the charity’s site in Newtownabbey.

Oliver Jeffers’ mural features the iconic Crayons characters from his acclaimed series of books, with the unique artwork installed for all to see when arriving at Horizon House.

Also attending were the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, Councillors Leah Kirkpatrick and Julie Gilmour respectively. The visit coincides with the start of Children’s Hospice Week (16^th to 22^nd June), the annual awareness week for children’s hospices and palliative care services.

After the VIPs received a guided tour of NI Children’s Hospice facilities, Oliver also met some of the Hospice families, before delighting the audience by reading from his books Stuck and Here We Are to the enraptured Little Stars children, their siblings, and nursing staff.

   

Oliver Jeffers said: “It is an honour to unveil this mural, as a gift dedicated to the patients and families of the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, who I am very proud to support. The artwork is inspired by our shared belief in filling every day with colour and care, and it stands as a celebration of hope, imagination, and love.

“Horizon House is an amazing place, and it is wonderful to see first-hand how the hard-working nurses help the children and their families to make the most of every moment. It has been fabulously inspiring and so moving to hear their positive stories of how Hospice care has truly made a difference in their lives.”

Trevor McCartney, Chief Executive of NI Hospice, said: “A huge thank you to Oliver for taking time out of his busy schedule today. The entire Hospice family is overjoyed to have him here, sharing precious moments with the children and unveiling this fabulous new mural.

“We are the only children’s hospice in Northern Ireland, providing specialist palliative care for babies and children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. We support children and their families with specialist clinical care, practical nursing care, and emotional and psychological support, both in our In-Patient Unit in Horizon House and in family homes across Northern Ireland. From supported short breaks including physio, music, art and hydrotherapy, our essential services are there every step of the way for our Little Stars and local families.

“It costs over £5m every year to run our children’s hospice, and we rely on the generosity of our local community and businesses to provide the majority of that through continued fundraising. This high-profile support from Oliver Jeffers is most welcome in helping us raise awareness of the incredible work, to improve understanding about children’s palliative care, and to raise much-needed funds so that the service can continue.”

As well as the mural unveiling, there are many other local events being organised to celebrate Children’s Hospice Week. These include a Teddy Bears picnic for the Hospice families at Horizon House with the public being asked to organise their own picnics too; local civic buildings across the country will be lit up in the Children’s Hospice’s purple branding; various schools are organising activities to ‘Go Purple for Hospice’; some NI Hospice’s corporate partners are undertaking their own fundraising challenges, with regional street collections in your area.

You can support NI Hospice with a donation during Children’s Hospice Week via www.nihospice.org/chw

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