Hollie inspires the crowd at our Colour Run!

Hollie is 21 and has epidermolysis bullosa, a rare life-shortening condition that makes her skin so fragile that every touch is painful. Despite that she was determined to take part in the Colour Run – and shared why on the stage in front of 1000 fellow participants.

“I’m here today because Forget Me Not deserves more recognition than they get. They’ve helped me and my family massively and I wanted to give something back – to make a big impact for them. But it’s not just me, I’m speaking on behalf of all the children and young people and families supported by Forget Me Not. Some of them are here today, many of them can’t be here – but we’re all here for them!”

Hollie powerfully kick-started an amazing day of colour, fun, passion and memory-making. If you joined us we hope you had a fantastic day and thank you so much for throwing yourself into it so whole-heartedly! You’ve helped us raise over £42,000, every penny of which will help us support local children and young people like Hollie and their families. You can read more about the day here or watch the emotional clip of Hollie being cheered across the finish line here.

When Jack and Hannah met Hollie!

It was Children’s Hospice a couple of weeks ago and we were delighted to welcome some of our ambassadors to Russell House – Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft, comedian and Coronation Street actor Jack Carroll, Rhys Connah, star of BBC drama Happy Valley and rugby league legend Michael Lawrence! It was lovely to show them some of our newer facilities and to thank them for all their support. And it was really special when Hollie came along to meet Jack and Hannah – we think she made a big impression!

Hollie took Jack on a tour of the hospice, told him about the support she receives from Forget Me Not and her plans for her legacy. Jack said: “Hollie and I had a brilliant time chatting about how much she enjoys the activities at Forget Me Not, Harry Potter and Lego!”

Hannah said of her visit: “this week I met with Hollie, a young person supported by the hospice who told me all about the services and support she has accessed over the years. We chatted about everything from gigs at the Piece Hall to Marvel. But also about the independence, care and comfort Forget Me Not has brought to Hollie’s life.”