In January, Poole Centenary Hall and Club celebrated a special fundraising achievement with £10,227 raised for Gully’s Place, a University Hospitals Dorset service for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.
The club, which has supported Gully’s Place for several years, were thrilled to present this gift to University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity earlier in January.
Gully’s Place is a specialised service developed to support children and young people with life-limiting conditions and illnesses from the point of diagnosis. The service has two specialised suites in the Children’s Units at Poole Hospital and Dorchester Hospital to provide a private place within a hospital setting, with the reassurance and comfort of having expert care at hand.
Additionally, Gully’s Place offers hospice care for children and young people for weeks, months or years before the approach to end of life. The service provides immediate and ongoing palliative bereavement support to families as well.
The funds came from Poole Centenary Hall and Club’s dedicating themselves to raising as much support as possible for Gully’s Place as its chosen Charity of the year for 2024 and 2025. To raise this staggering amount in 2025, the club hosted disco nights, raffles, bingos, holiday-themed events, craft sales and a head shave.
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity Community Fundraiser, Janine Golding said: “What an amazing donation! Poole Centenary Hall and Club have supported Gully’s Place for years, but to see them go above and beyond by fundraising £10,227 left us speechless! It was such a wonderful surprise and knowing how much this will mean for children and young people at the end of life or with life-limiting conditions, supported by Gully’s Place, fills me with such joy.”
Michele Miller, who has organised raffles and parties for Poole Centenary Club, said: “We support Gully’s Place because this is a small local charity that does amazing work to support children with life limiting conditions and their families.”
In addition to the suites, funding for Gully’s Place has provided memory keepsakes and enabled families to attend memorable experiences, including theatre and pantomimes. Funds also go towards providing specialised medical and therapy equipment and a beach hut retreat for people supported by the service.