Date published: 21 January 2016 by Anna Jackson

Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity has launched an innovative online annual review with the release of 1001 Small Things – Our Year 2014/15. The website complements a print version of the review, and reveals a 16 per cent increase in the number of families supported as well as guiding the reader through our highlights and plans for the future.

The story illustrates how Rainbow Trust has made a difference to families caring for a child with a life threatening or terminal illness in 2014/15. Through new imagery, films and animations it shares the ways we help families, our goals for the future, our financial accounts as well as thanking all our generous supporters for their dedication in helping Rainbow Trust to raise a record £5.1 million.

Highlights from 1001 Small Things include a 16 per cent increase in the number of families Rainbow Trust supports, reaching 1,958 in England with 692 new referrals. We expanded our neonatal care supporting families with a seriously ill newborn baby by appointing our first Neonatal Support Worker at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. We also launched new drop-in groups to provide additional support to parents and bereaved siblings.

Supporting the whole family continues to be at the heart of Rainbow Trust’s work through our network of nine Family Support Teams working across England which provided 10,144 hours of home support helping make home life a little bit easier. They gave 1,009 hours of bereavement support and provided 2,958 hours of sibling support with five dedicated groups for brothers and sisters to come together and share their experiences.

Rainbow Trust’s Chief Executive, Heather Wood said:

“We are immensely proud of 1001 Small Things – Our Year 2014/15. It is a fantastic tool that enables us to shout about the incredible work that Rainbow Trust has carried out in the last year and the impact that we are having on over 1,900 families in England. Our network of care teams continue to work in new and exciting ways to ensure that the needs of families remain our utmost priority, enabling us to reach out to more families than ever before.”