IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHILDREN’S NURSE CYCLING OVER 3,200 MILES FOR CHILDREN’S HOSPICES
Challenge being taken on by Francesca Lennon, a paediatric nurse, who will cycle between all 54 children’s hospices in the UK in a bid to raise over £500,000 to support their work
The epic bike ride will start on 20th June, at the start of Children’s Hospice Week (20th June – 26th June) and involve 10 weeks on the road to complete the journey
Starting in Oxford at Helen & Douglas House, the route will take her across the UK including Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Cambridge, Sheffield, Belfast, Scotland and many more, with stops at every children’s hospice service across the nation
The Buckinghamshire-based nurse has recently set up ChatUK, a project supporting Together for Short Lives, the UK charity for children’s palliative care
She’ll be raising vital funds for the 54 children’s hospices across the UK and increasing awareness of their important work
Images available at: https://www.flickr.com/gp/195601961@N03/wmd24H
To celebrate the start of Children’s Hospice Week, which runs from 20th June – 26th June across the UK, a paediatric nurse is taking on the challenge of cycling between every children’s hospice service in the UK.
Starting on 20th June, nurse Francesca Lennon will be cycling 3,200 miles over 70 days to complete the marathon challenge by 28th August, an average of 46 miles per day.
Every children’s hospice in the UK will be uniting to support her on the first day of Children’s Hospice Week, each completing 54 minutes of cycling or putting their best wheels forward, like wheelchair racing or trolley dashes – a minute to represent every UK hospice.
Inspired by her work with seriously ill children for over 10 years, Francesca has recently founded ChatUK (Children’s Hospices Across The UK), a project aimed at creating a network between the independent UK children’s hospices and educating the nation about the importance of the essential service they provide. Vitally, she’ll be raising funds for children’s palliative care charity, Together for Short Lives, to support children’s hospices.
The theme of this year’s Children’s Hospice Week is #ForTheChildren. Children’s hospices provide vital support for children and young people with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition. Everything they do is ‘For The Children’ – helping families make the most of their lives together, no matter how short. No one knows this better than Francesca.
Just four months before the start of the challenge, Francesca experienced her own personal loss, when her close friend’s son Henry died from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia at 9 years old. It is with a huge amount of love that she is dedicating ChatUK to Henry and has named her bike after him too. Henry always wanted to help others and Francesca hopes that through their story, she will have an even more powerful message to spread with ChatUK.
There are 54 hospices across the UK that support seriously ill children and their families during their most difficult times, but with over 99,000 seriously ill children, hospices are struggling to raise the funds that they need to continue their vital work. ChatUK’s founding belief is that every child with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions should have access to care and support.
Francesca’s journey will see her visit every children’s hospice in the UK on her route, including stops in Bristol, Oxford, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Sheffield, Blackpool, Isle of Man, Carlisle, Belfast, Balloch, Newcastle, Liverpool, Coventry, Loughborough, Cambridge and Ipswich, plus many more. The full list of hospices is available here.
The epic bike ride is part of the project’s launch, with a mission to raise £500,000 for children’s hospices and the families they support. Children’s hospices are made up of many different individual charities and an important part of ChatUK to raise money for them all. The money raised will go to the Together for Short Lives National Fundraising Scheme, which will split the money raised between all 54 children’s hospices
Of the challenge, Francesca says “ChatUK is inspired by the children and families I have cared for as a nurse, seeing first-hand what they face every day and the difference the support of a children’s hospice makes. I wanted to bring people together to raise awareness and funds for children’s hospices and to show families of seriously ill children how much we care - but I didn’t know how until I attended a talk by Ben Fogle where he said to ‘Find your Everest’, which led to the idea of cycling around every children’s hospice in the UK. Given I didn’t actually own a bike and hadn’t ridden one since I was a child, it has definitely been an Everest to get to where I am today! I am incredibly privileged to be a part of children and families lives at some of the hardest times imaginable and am very grateful that ChatUK will enable further support for seriously ill children across the UK in getting the care they need and deserve.”
As part of the challenge, ChatUK is encouraging children across the UK to ‘race Francesca’ by working together to travel the same distance on their own wheels - be it by bike, scooter, wheelchair or any wheels possible! Starting with just one mile, children across the UK are being encouraged to take on their own personal challenge to join the team and add their own miles to ‘Race Francesca’. A fundraising pack is available on the ChatUK website for more information on how to get involved: www.chatukproject.com/race-francesca-challenge.
More information about Francesca’s journey and CHAT UK is available at chatukproject.com. Donations can be made via https://www.justgiving.com/team/CHATUK.
Follow Francesca’s progress at on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @chatuk54
#chatuk #racefrancesca
For more information about ChatUK, Francesca’s epic journey and how to get involved or donate, please visit chatukproject.com.
For more information:
To request further quotes or an interview with Francesca, please contact
07850572616
Notes to Editors
Francesca’s route:
1. Monday 20th June: Helen & Douglas House, Oxford
2. Monday 20th June: James Hopkins House, Gloucester
3. Tuesday 21st June: Jessie May Trust, Bristol
4. Wednesday 22nd June: Ty Hafan, Sully
5. Friday 24th June: Acorns - Three Counties, Worcester
6. Saturday 25th June: Acorns - Birmingham, Birmingham
7. Sunday 26th June: Acorns - Black Country, Walsall
8. Monday 27th June: Dougie Mac, Stoke-on-Trent
9. Tuesday 28th June: Hope House, Oswestrey
10. Wednesday 29th June: Ty Gobaith, Conwy
11. Thursday 30th June: Claire House, Wirral
12. Friday 1st July: Francis House, Manchester
13. Saturday 2nd July: Bluebell Wood, Sheffield
14. Monday 4th July: Andy's, Grimsby
15. Tuesday 5th July: Martin House, Wetherby
16. Wednesday 6th July: Forget Me Not, Huddersfield
17. Thursday 7th July: Grace's Place, Bury
18. Friday 8th July: Derian House, Chorley
19. Saturday 9th July: Brian House, Blackpool
20. Sunday 10th July: Rebecca House, Isle of Man
21. Tuesday 12th July: Jigsaw, Carlisle
22. Thursday 14th July: Northern Ireland Children's Hospice, Belfast
23. Saturday 16th July: CHAS - Robin House, Balloch
24. Sunday 17th July: CHAS - Rachel House, Kinross
25. Thursday 21st July: St Oswald’s, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
26. Saturday 22nd July: Butterwick House, Stockton-on-Tees
27. Sunday 23rd July: Zoe's Place, Middlesbrough
28. Monday 25th July: Zoe's Place, Liverpool
29. Wednesday 27th July: Zoe's Place, Coventry
30. Thursday 28th July: Rainbows, Loughborough
31. Friday 29th July: Rennie Grove, Tring
32. Saturday 30th July: Alexander Devine, Maidenhead
33. Sunday 31st July: Noah's Ark, Barnet
34. Monday 1st August: Keech, Luton
35. Tuesday 2nd August: EACH Milton, Cambridge
36. Wednesday 3rd August: EACH The Nook, Norfolk
37. Thursday 4th August: EACH The Treehouse, Ipswich
38. Friday 5th August: Little Haven's and J's Place, Benfleet
39. Saturday 6th August: Haven House, Woodford Green
40. Monday 8th August: Richard House, London
41. Tuesday 9th August: Ellenor, Gravesend
42. Wednesday 10th August: Demelza Kent, Sittingbourne
43. Thursday 11th August: Demelza SEL, Eltham
44. Friday 12th August: Shooting Stars, Guildford
45. Saturday 13th August: Chestnut Tree House, Arundel
46. Monday 15th August: Naomi House & Jack's Place, Winchester
47. Tuesday 16th August: Julia's House - Wiltshire, Devizes
48. Wednesday 17th August: Julia's House - Dorset, Dorset
49. Sunday 21st August: CHSW Little Harbour, St Austell
50. Tuesday 23rd August: CHSW Little Bridge House, Barnstaple
51. Thursday 25th August: CHSW - Charlton Farm, Bristol
About ChatUK
There are 54 children's hospices across the UK supporting families of seriously ill children during their most difficult times. But with over 99,000 seriously ill children, hospices are struggling to raise the funds they need to continue the vital work they do.
At the ChatUK project, we believe that every child with a life limiting or life threatening condition should have access to that same level of care and support. Our mission is to raise awareness of the essential work that children’s hospices do and raise funds to help them continue to support seriously ill children and their families.
That’s why in June 2022, children’s nurse Francesca is cycling 3200 miles across the UK to each of the hospices to raise money and awareness for children's hospices nationally.
The money raised will go towards the Together for Short Lives National Fundraising Scheme, which splits the money raised between all 54 children’s hospices.
More information about Francesca’s journey and ChatUK is available at chatukproject.com.
Donations can be made via https://www.justgiving.com/team/CHATUK.
Follow Francesca’s progress at on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @chatuk54.
About Together For Short Lives
When a child’s life is expected to be short, there’s no time to waste. Together for Short Lives is here to make sure the 99,000 seriously ill children and their families across the UK can make the most of every moment they have together, whether that’s for years, months or only hours. We stand alongside families, supporting them to make sure they get the vital care and help that they need.
We support and empower families caring for seriously ill children by listening to their needs and helping them find the right care. We provide easily digestible information about available support so families can spend less time searching for help and have more time together. We connect families with support services and other families who understand what they are going through, so they don’t feel as alone.
99,000 babies, children and young people are living in the UK with health conditions that are life-limiting or life-threatening—and the number is rising. Many of these children have complex conditions and need specialist care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The impact is enormous; affected parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and the wider family make up an estimated 790,000 people who are actively involved in care. For those who love these children, accessing help and the right care can be emotionally stressful. For those of us who haven’t faced it, it’s unimaginable.
Getting the right support can make a lifetime of difference. And that’s what we are here for.
W: togetherforshortlives.org.uk
T: @Tog4ShortLives
F: @togetherforshortlives
I: @togetherforshortlives
L: Together for Short Lives