Children's hospice founder steps down

2 hours ago

Chloe Hughesin Shropshire

News image — Hope House chief executive Andy Goldsmith, Barbara Evans and chair of trustees Steve Henly

Hope House Three people are smiling at the camera. A man on the left is bald with glasses and is wearing a black suit. He is holding a large box of flowers that are pink, yellow and blue. A woman in the middle has short white hair, glasses and is wearing a black top and red cardigan. She is holding a framed painting of colourful flowers. On the right is another man who is bald with glasses, who is wearing a light blue shirt and black suit jacket. He is holding a painting with flowers and children's footprints on it — Hope House chief executive Andy Goldsmith, Barbara Evans and chair of trustees Steve Henly

The founder of a charity which supports families who are either caring for a terminally ill child, or whose child has died, has stepped down after more than three decades.

Hope House Children's Hospices helps more than 750 families in Shropshire, Cheshire and Wales.

Barbara Evans, now 73 and from Shrewsbury, banded together with a group of parents and healthcare professionals with the idea to start a hospice to support local children.

Evans said she wanted to retire while she was still "100% committed and active" and "not find herself in a position where she is doing less."

"It doesn't feel like 35 years, not at all, because if you enjoy what you are doing and you can see children and families benefitting, then time just flies," she said.

The original working group was made up of Caroline Peachey - whose daughter, Hope, is the inspiration behind the hospice's name; Sally Day, former chief executive of Acorn's Children's Hospice in Birmingham; and local businessman Mike Mortimer.

She said Day invited her to Acorn's, which was "life-changing" for her.

Hope House An old photograph of two women. Barbara on the left has short curly brown hair and a red jacket. The woman on the right has a short brown pixie haircut and is wearing a black top with white flowers and a beige suit jacket — Barbara Evans (left) with fellow trustee Sarah Kearsley-Wooller

They needed to raise £1m to open, which she said was tough.

"No matter where I went in the early days, I always met families saying that they needed somewhere like Hope House and it couldn't happen soon enough, and other people saying they wanted to support us, and that is what kept us going," she said.

"We found some land and applied for planning permission, then the Bradbury Trust came along and said if you can build your hospice in 12 months, we will give you £1million towards it. That was a huge incentive, and we fundraised like mad to match that million.

"When Hope House opened in 1995 I felt proud, thrilled and emotional because we'd achieved something amazing, but also afraid because we might not raise enough money to actually continue into the future."

Hope House A large group of men and women are smiling at the camera. There are eight men and six women. Barbara is standing with them, with short white hair, glasses and a red jacket on — Evans has volunteering opportunities lined up elsewhere

It was not long before the idea of a second hospice came to life.

"We wondered if we could afford it, but then we listened to the children and families in North Wales who were telling us Hope House was a long way to come."

She said they were "gazumped" on the first piece of land they found, but found an old garden centre on a hillside, which eventually became Tŷ Gobaith.

Evans has been both chair and vice-chair of the charity's board, attends all board meetings and regularly visits both hospices and their fundraising events.

Despite stepping down, she has another project lined up with the prison service, as well as being a volunteer tour guide and researcher for the National Trust and Longner Hall, near Shrewsbury.

"My wish for the future would be that Hope House Children's Hospices continue to develop to meet the changing needs of the children and the families in this area, whatever those needs might be," she said.

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