WellChild is a charity that provides care for seriously ill children and young people in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, founded in 1977. The charity introduced and funds WellChild Nurses, who provide care and support to children and young people needing long-term or complex care, helping children to leave hospital and be cared for at home. The charity also operates Helping Hands, a

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

scheme which, with the support of volunteer teams from local companies and organisations, provides home and garden improvement projects aiming to make homes more suitable for their needs. The group also invests money in children's health research and projects, hosts online and face-to-face groups for families, campaigns on behalf of ill children and support professionals, and supports families who have children with the rare genetic condition

Wolfram syndrome Wolfram syndrome, also called DIDMOAD (diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness), is a rare autosomal-recessive genetic disorder that causes childhood-onset diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness as well as variou ...

History

The charity was founded in 1977 with the name "Kidney", to fund research into

kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can ...

. It was set up by an individual whose friend's daughter died of kidney disease. "Kidney" later changed its name to "Children Nationwide Medical Research Foundation", and developed into supporting more areas of

paediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

research. The charity was eventually renamed "WellChild" in 2003. In 2003 WellChild began to offer more support to sick and seriously ill children, including children's nurses and the Helping Hands projects. WellChild presently works with the children and the families of children with a variety of long-term and complex health conditions. COVID-19 During the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak, the charity launched a direct response service to help source and deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for families caring for seriously ill children at home. The service also provided advice on how to access food and medicine deliveries.

Patron and ambassadors

WellChild's patron is

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

, who takes an active interest in the charity's work and has met with many of the children and young people, nurses, researchers and volunteers who have been involved with the charity. It is one of the four charities which Harry and his wife chose to ask people to donate to instead of sending gifts for their newborn baby in 2019. Celebrity ambassadors for the charity include: *

Duncan Bannatyne Duncan Walker Bannatyne, (born 2 February 1949) is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, and property. He is most famous for his appearance as a business a ...

OBE * Mark Foster *

Karren Brady Karren Rita Brady, Baroness Brady, (born 4 April 1969) is a British business executive and television personality. She is a former managing director of Birmingham City F.C. and current vice-chairman of West Ham United F.C., and an aide to Al ...

CBE *

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series ''The X Factor'' in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syc ...

Gaby Roslin Gaby Roslin (born 12 July 1964) is an English television and radio presenter who rose to fame co-presenting ''The Big Breakfast'' on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996. Roslin also presented the '' Children in Need'' charity telethons on the BBC ...

Emily Maitlis Emily Maitlis (born 6 September 1970) is a British journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former newsreader for the BBC. She was the lead anchor until the end of 2021 of ''Newsnight'', the BBC Two news and current affairs programme. Early lif ...

Ed Chamberlin Edward Alan Chamberlin (born 6 February 1974) is an English sports broadcaster who has been working for ITV since January 2017. Presenting career Chamberlin was born in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. As a boy he attended Ludgrove School, where he ...

Oliver Phelps Oliver Phelps (October 21, 1749February 21, 1809) was early in life a tavern keeper in Granville, Massachusetts. During the Revolution he was Deputy Commissary of the Continental Army and served until the end of the war. After the war ended, h ...

Ian Waite Ian Waite (born 29 January 1971) is a British professional dancer specialising in Latin American dance, a teacher and choreographer. Biography Waite was born in Reading, Berkshire. He started dancing at the age of 10. Mary Richardson, a former ...

* Chris Hollins *

Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/voc ...

Janet Ellis Janet Ellis, (born 16 September 1955) is an English television presenter, actress and writer, who is best known for presenting the children's television programmes ''Blue Peter'' and ''Jigsaw'' between 1979 and 1987. She has published two novel ...

Sam Nixon Sam Nixon is an English singer and television presenter. He came third on the ''Pop Idol'' television series in 2003 and is now one half of the duo Sam & Mark, with the other being Mark Rhodes. Early life He was originally a catering student ...

and

Mark Rhodes Mark Thomas Rhodes (born 11 September 1981) is an English singer, actor and television presenter. Career Born in Wolverhampton, England, Rhodes finished in second place in the second series of ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom, runner-up to M ...

Laura Hamilton Laura Jane Hamilton (born 24 April 1982) is an English television presenter, property expert and entrepreneur. She began her career on children's television, presenting shows such as '' Fun Song Factory'' and on Nickelodeon. She participated in ...

Lauren Drummond Lauren Emma Drummond (born 23 December 1987) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Mika Grainger in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2008) and Chantelle Lane in the BBC One medical drama series ...

Gillian McKeith Gillian McKeith (born 28 September 1959) is a Scottish television personality and writer. She is known for her promotion of various pseudoscientific ideas about health and nutrition. She is the former host of Channel 4's ''You Are What You Eat ...

Sarah Barrand Sarah Barrand (born 2 November 1985) is an English actress known for her role as Shannon Donnelly-Lawson in ''Footballers Wives'' and its ITV2 spin-off, '' Footballers' Wives: Extra Time''. Barrand grew up in Southport, Merseyside. She has play ...

Samantha Quek Samantha Ann Quek, MBE (born 18 October 1988) is an English former field hockey player, and television personality. She played as a defender for both the England and Great Britain teams, wearing squad number 13, and won gold as part of the Briti ...

Diversity (dance troupe) Diversity are a British street dance troupe formed in 2007 and based in London. They are best known for winning the third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2009, beating Susan Boyle in the live final. Diversity consists of friends from Lond ...

WellChild Awards

WellChild Awards is an annual event that takes place in London, with celebrities and ambassadors hosting the event and presenting awards to the winners. Prince Harry attends this event and meets the award winners. In 2015 the television programme ''Good Morning Britain'' had their own category in the awards called "Good Morning Britain's Young Hero Award 2015", which they opened to the public for nominations.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Children's charities based in the United Kingdom Health in Gloucestershire Organisations based in Cheltenham Health charities in the United Kingdom 1977 establishments in the United Kingdom