CHARITY OF THE YEAR
Together for Short Lives
In 2024, Lockton Associates voted for Together for Short Lives as their Charity of the Year, the UK’s leading charity for the 99,000 babies, children and young people with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition.
The partnership aims to support affected families who often face complex medical needs, relentless uncertainty, financial pressures, and profound emotional strain, all while trying to create lasting memories with their child.
The charity makes sure every seriously ill child and their family can access high-quality children’s palliative care, when and where they need it. You can learn more by visiting their website https://www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk/.
“Partnerships like this make a real and lasting difference - not only by raising vital funds, but by raising awareness and standing alongside families who need specialist care and support. We are proud to work with Lockton and deeply thankful for their continued dedication.”
Nick Carroll, TfSL Chief Executive
Together for Short Lives, supported by its corporate partners, helps to:
- Support families through the most difficult times of their lives, offering vital practical, emotional, and financial help
- Strengthen the children’s palliative care sector by leading, gathering, and sharing cutting-edge research and funding essential children’s hospice services
- Campaign on behalf of seriously ill children and their families to improve access to high-quality palliative care wherever they live, whenever they need it.
How Lockton's generosity is helping transform lives
Local children’s hospice services are vital to families caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition. From diagnosis, through treatment, to bereavement and beyond, hospices provide expert care, compassion, and hope when families need it most.
Across the UK, money raised helps 52 children’s hospices welcome entire families into homely environments, where they offer a wide range of clinical, emotional and practical support, including:
- Therapeutic support for families including art, play, music therapy and hydrotherapy
- Bereavement support for the whole family
- Respite care and short breaks for families
- Practical and emotional support for family members, including siblings, parents and grandparents
- Children’s hospice nurses, who help with the control of pain and other distressing symptoms
Children’s hospices are places of joy, magic and laughter – where time is treasured and every second, every minute, every hour matters more than it does anywhere else. Through our partnership, Lockton offices and Associates have built close relationships with their local children’s hospices, raising awareness of children’s palliative care, and deepening their understanding through volunteering.
How the £225,000 raised supports Together for Short Lives
- Specialist nursing care: £91,600 could fund over 2,000 hours of expert nursing care, ensuring children receive comfort, dignity, and clinical support when they need it most.
- Hospice at Home support: £69,500 could fund nearly 1,400 hours of care in the family home, helping avoid emergency hospital admissions and giving parents vital respite.
- Counselling and emotional support: £37,600 could fund more than 750 counselling sessions for parents, siblings and bereaved family members.
- Therapeutic play and sensory sessions: £11,850 could fund around 600 sessions, helping children relax, communicate and experience joy in a safe, supportive environment.
- Memory-making and bereavement resources: £15,035 could fund 600 memory-making moments, giving families precious keepsakes to treasure forever.
OSCAR'S STORY
Families are at the heart of our partnership
With Lockton’s vital support, children’s hospices can provide essential care and comfort to seriously ill children and their families. Children’s hospices like Little Havens are there for families like Oscar’s, offering expert care, emotional support, and the chance to make every moment count.
Oscar was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a condition that affects movement in all four limbs. In 2019, as his needs became more complex, he was referred to Little Havens Children’s Hospice.
“They want to make Oscar happy, and that’s what Little Havens does for us as a family. Nothing is impossible.”
At Little Havens there is everything Oscar loves around him. On his good days, respite can be a fun and uplifting experience; on others, it provides a peaceful stay with round the clock specialist care. Oscar’s Mum, Adelaide, says:
“It’s much more to us than respite. They can help us get the best out of each day for Oscar. If he’s having a good day and really smiley and happy, they take him outside because they know that is something he loves and is important to him."
The care at Little Havens also gives families an opportunity to rest, providing Oscar’s mum with precious time to recharge when she needs it most. While Oscar is being cared for by the nurses, Adelaide knows he is in the best hands. She explains, “the first thing that comes to mind when I think of life without Little Havens is loneliness. I think our world would be very isolated.”
“With Little Havens, we are surrounded by people who understand what you are going through and love our children as much as we do. Little Havens is not just a hospice. It is an extension of our family.”
Children’s hospices like Little Havens are always there for families like Oscar’s, providing vital support whenever it is needed. We are proud to be working alongside Lockton to help ensure children and their families can access the highest possible standard of care, comfort and compassion as they navigate the most difficult moments at the end of life.
