Read on Twitter
Cecil Duckworth supported Acorns for more than a quarter century. In 1997, the child of a family friend was referred to Acorns Children's Hospice in Birmingham. As Cecil explained it to me, during that time, two things occurred to him - #duckworthhour #WorcestershireHour
Firstly, his friend said him that the care their child received @AcornsHospice was exceptional. It meant a lot to them to know that their child could go for a short break somewhere safe and caring
Secondly, however, Birmingham was a long way off for a family in Worcestershire. Travel could take a long time, and his friends said they would have used the @acornshospice service much more had their been a hospice closer to home.
So Cecil Duckworth made a vow to himself, that one day he would try to bring an Acorns Children's Hospice to his local community. Seven years later, an opportunity arose. A mutual friend told him about a couple thinking of donating some land off the Bath Road in #Worcester
Cecil met the couple, June and Willie Sayce, along with then Acorns CEO, John Overton. In 2003, they all decided to go for it. The Sayces would donate their land. Acorns would apply to build a children's hospice in Worcester and start an appeal to fund its construction.
Cecil pledged the first £1m to the Appeal, and asked a friend of his, Sir Michael Perry, to chair a committee tasked with raising many millions more needed to complete the construction. #WorcestershireHour #duckworthhour
In January 2004, Cecil and June Sayce went to the site to see the Earl of Lichfield lay the Foundation Stone
In 2005, the hospice was opened by the Duchess of Gloucester. The city of Worcester, and families of life-limited children in the Three Counties, now had a state-of-the-art children's hospice arguably as fine as any in the country
Children have been cared for @AcornsHospice in Worcester ever since, more than 15 years now. Our doors have never closed, not even during this terrible Covid pandemic.
All thanks to you, Cecil Duckworth. #duckworthhour #worcestershirehour - we will all be forever grateful
