Grace House North East
Why was the charity formed?
In 2023 Grace House is celebrating 20 years as a charity. The charity, initially started as the brain child of local TV presenter Kathy Secker, who during her TV career and subsequent charitable endeavours had met many families who were facing the impossible challenge of caring for their dying child. Kathy made it her mission to help families faced with this, the most awful of situations by proposing a children’s hospice in Southwick, Sunderland.
Kathy believed children needed a place “to laugh, learn and live life to the full” and over a period of 10 years she lead a fundraising team who were committed to making her vision of a children’s hospice happen.
Kathy’s passion ignited a City wide following with interest from local media, both press and TV and especially that of the generous Sunderland public.
A name for the charity was decided after Kathy met a very special little girl from Sunderland called Grace Jones. The charity then became known as Grace House.
The charity has now evolved into offering short breaks instead of hospice care to disabled children and young people and we also offer a multitude of other services including counselling, holistic and therapeutic support to the whole family, not just the child.
We have gone from strength to strength and continue to add to the services we offer, including youth groups, preschool sessions, work experience and a life skills programme for children and young people.
Which area do you cover?
We support disabled children and families mainly in Sunderland but also from across the whole of the North East.
What type of fundraising events do you have?
We have all sorts of fundraising events with something to suit everyone! From Car Boot Sales at Grace House, to our 3K colour run Race for Grace, our Annual Golf Day and Great North Run.
To celebrate 20 Years of Grace House we are holding our Roaring Twenties Ball on 23rd September at Rainton Arena, kindly sponsored by Richard Reed Solicitors. We will transport you back in time to the 1920’s with all the glamour of the era including entertainment from Elsadie and the Bobcats to get you up on the dance floor, a sumptuous three course feast and a welcome drink, no prohibition here!
Tickets are flying out, so if you would like to attend this event, please get in touch as soon as possible. You can find all our events on our website www.gracehouse.co.uk
What have been your proudest moments so far?
In 2022 we received funding from Virgin Money Foundation to make a film around bullying and hate crime against disabled children and young people. We have recently successfully completed the film and celebrated with a film screening and prom at a Seafront hotel in Sunderland. The children were overjoyed and felt so incredibly proud to view their film on the big screen, sharing it with family and friends. We think it relays an important message, that just because you are disabled you should not tolerate abuse or bullying. Disability is actually a protected characteristic in law and abuse is considered to be a hate crime. Check out our YouTube channel, Grace House North East, to view the film!
What are you currently working on?
We have huge plans for a fun filled spring and summer, with so many activities which include a family trip to the local park with families bringing picnics and it will be a chance for people to mix and make new friends. Families will also be able to come into Grace House and enjoy Science Buddies, Angela’s Ark and Lego play. Parents can come to Grace House for coffee and chats, we also have drumming sessions, Yoga and much more.
What does the future hold?
At Grace House we are always exploring new and exciting ways to support our disabled children, young people and their families. We are looking at ways we can develop our work experience offer to widen the scope to include opportunities in the community which could be Barista work, gardening etc.
We also look at every part of the family, therefore we are developing specialist services providing fun opportunities to siblings, Dad’s and other members of the family.
We also want to offer these range of activities to families who have never yet accessed our services, so it is important we ensure our services are properly resourced to assist more families.
Therefore, fundraising is more important than ever, and we have a full calendar of events this year. If you would like to do your own fundraising for Grace House, we can support you along the way with online giving pages, fundraising supplies and advice.
How do you get involved?
If you would like to get involved either with fundraising, sponsorship or volunteering please contact Laura on LF@gracehouse.co.uk or call 0191 435 2085. There is also more information on our website www.gracehouse.co.uk. We would love to hear from you and however you decide to support us, you will be helping us to continue enriching the lives of disabled children, young people, and their families across our region.
www.gracehouse.co.uk