Little Havens Children's Hospice has been named by the public as the best voluntary or charity project at the National Lottery awards this weekend.
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192,000 votes were cast to decide upon the winners in seven categories: arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport and voluntary/charity. Little Havens was shortlisted together with Blaenau Gwent Domestic Abuse Services in South Wales and Brighton and Hove Neighbourhood Care Scheme and received 9,049 votes to make it winner in its category.
Receiving the £2000 prize money at a ceremony in London's Roundhouse Little Havens' head of care Lauren Summers said: “We were in competition with two other fantastic charities so I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for Little Havens.
"The funding we received from the Lottery in 2002 made a huge difference to the work we do. Thank you. I couldn’t be more proud to accept this award on behalf of our incredible staff, volunteers and supporters; it’s a real testament to the work done by children’s hospices throughout the country. This is a time to celebrate the inspiring children and families we care for who make Little Havens the special place it is. Thank you."
Little Havens is one of two hospices run by Havens Hospices. Set in Thundersley, Essex it opened in 1998 and has since provided a "home-from-home" for 1,000 families. The hospice costs £2.3m per year to run because it offers its service free of charge. In 2002 the hospice was awarded £650,000 by the National Lottery to fund eight specialist children's nurses for three years.
"People may think a hospice is full of doom and gloom, but... Little Havens is a home from home," said Summers. "We not only care for the child but offer the entire family a chance to do things that you and I take for granted like going for a swim, a trip to the seaside or to the cinema. Yes there are sad times but it’s about having fun and making every day count. I would like to offer my thanks again to the National Lottery Awards for being so supportive and for providing a spectacularly entertaining evening out for us all!"
The awards ceremony was attended by a host of celebrities including musicians McFly and Taio Cruz, boxer Amir Kahn and BBC presenter Julia Bradbury.
