Eastnor Castle has announced Acorns Children’s Hospice in Worcester as its Charity of the Year for 2020.

Eastnor Castle runs an annual Charity of the Year programme "where it pledges to support a local charity in a number of ways to include the use of the castle for a fundraising dinner, the use of the grounds for a family fun day, complimentary tickets, collection boxes at the visitor entrance and an open invitation to be present on any day they are open to visitors2.

A relationship started between Eastnor Castle and Acorns Children’s Hospice back in April 2019 when a visitor to Eastnor Castle’s Easter Treasure Hunt asked if she could donate the giant Easter Egg she had won to a local Children’s Hospice. Happy to oblige, a member of the Eastnor team dropped the giant chocolate egg into Acorns for the Three Counties on the Bath Road in Worcester.

Becky Williams, Head of Marketing at Eastnor Castle said: “From the first chance visit to Acorns last April, it was clear that Acorns was a very special place indeed and we were keen to discuss our Charity of the Year programme with them as soon as possible.”

She added: “Acorns Children’s Hospice provide specialist palliative care for life limited and life threatened babies, children and young people, and support for their families. They need £27,000 per day to run their services and rely on donations and fundraising by the community and local businesses for 70% of this amount. We hope that we can contribute towards this amount and also raise the profile of Acorns Children’s Hospice amongst our visitors. We’ve already met with the team and are looking forward to working together on a number of events throughout the year.”

Mel Hall, Area Fundraiser for Acorns Children’s Hospice said: “We are thrilled to be chosen as Eastnor Castle’s Charity of the Year. We rely on the generosity of supporters to continue providing our vital services – so this partnership is really important. We’re excited to see what the year brings.

Details of the events being arranged at Eastnor Castle by Acorns Children’s Hospice are being finalised and will be announced shortly.