A CHARITY which supports seriously ill children and their families has received a donation of more than £26,000 from developer Bewley Homes.

Bewley Managing Director Andrew Brooks and Commercial Director Simon Taphouse presented a cheque for £26,219.39 to Jane Gates, Chief Executive Officer of Sebastian’s Action Trust. The money was raised at Bewley’s annual golf day, with £5,000 also donated to Guide Dogs.

Sebastian’s Action Trust, named after Jane’s young son who died in 2003, offers respite breaks, crisis breaks and day visits for children with life-limiting illnesses and their families. These are held at The Bluebells in North Waltham, which Bewley Homes helped to build in 2011.

Andrew Brooks said: “We were delighted to have raised so much for Sebastian’s Action Trust at the golf day. The children who use the charity’s services benefit enormously from the respite breaks, along with the practical and emotional support provided.

“Bewley has been actively involved in supporting Sebastian’s Action Trust for several years. The charity is close to so many of our hearts, as a lot of our employees have families with young children. We are pleased to continue to support the charity in its good work.”

Jane Gates explained that the Bewley donation will be used to fund direct support to families through outreach and specialist care. She said: “This means they will have access to a dedicated team providing a holistic model of care. This addresses the needs of individual family members as well as the collective family unit through the daily challenges they face.

“We are proud to walk alongside families from a child’s diagnosis through treatment and beyond, knowing that this alleviates the sense of isolation many experience, whilst also building a community we call our ‘family of families’, who through common experiences can provide peer support and understanding.”

She said: “As a charity that receives not a single penny of statutory, NHS or Clinical Commissioning Group funding, we are so grateful for Bewley Homes’ continued commitment to our cause which helps to underpin our service delivery.Such generosity enables us to sustain vital services, to reach and respond to ever increasing demand for our support, and to ‘plug the gaps’ for families facing the most extraordinary challenges.”

Founded in 1991, independent developer Bewley Homes has sites across Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey. Visit www.bewley.co.uk for detailsmore information.