People from across Liverpool and beyond have been pulling out all the stops to try and raise the money that Zoe’s Place needs
The campaign to save Zoe’s Place from closure has reached its target and the hospice has been saved. The Liverpool ECHO has been part of a city-wide campaign to raise funds for the hugely loved centre on Yew Tree Lane, West Derby.
The hospice provides respite, palliative and end-of-life care for babies and children up to the age of five. In October, devastated staff at the West Derby hospice were told that the centre would be closing by the end of the year.
The charity, which runs the hospice had been trying to raise money for a new home, with their current lease in Yew Tree Lane set to expire next year – but said they had run out of time. News of the closure sparked a huge city and region-wide campaign, with people told that £5 million needed to be raised within just 30 days if there was to be any hope of saving Zoe’s Place in Liverpool.
The campaign has seen people from all walks of life doing their bit to raise money for this most-cherished facility, including celebrities from Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett to Claire Sweeney and Steven Gerrard. The biggest boost to the campaign arrived last week when it was revealed that Home Bargains’ owner TJ Morris pledged £2.5m to the cause, meaning the final total was in sight.
At midday on Friday, the ECHO reported that the hospice has been saved. A final flurry of more than £300,000 arrived in the final 24 hours of the campaign as Zoe’s Place was featured on national television shows Good Morning Britain and BBC Breakfast.
Earlier this week, the ECHO reported that Mr Byrne met with Zoe’s Place trustees again for what he said were “very positive” talks about the ongoing campaign and the plans for a new structure to run the Liverpool-based hospice going forward. He urged locals to dig deep in these final few days.
The MP told the ECHO: “We now have five days to go to save Zoe’s Place. We have seen unbelievable efforts from so many people in this campaign, it has been amazing to see, this has got us near to where we need to be.
“We just need everyone to keep going, straining every sinew because we are now so close to making the new Zoe’s Place in Liverpool a reality.” To donate to the campaign click here.