Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh opens new garden advice room at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice

by Joshua Robinson –

Families in West Yorkshire are to benefit from a new garden advice room after it was officially opened by Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh and Gareth Pierce, CEO of Children’s Hospice, don’t forget me. They joined them Simon Holdcroft and Stephen Popplea family that the hospice supported after they sadly lost their child Lion during pregnancy in November 2020.

The Garden Counseling Room, a space for counselling, peer support and sibling groups at Russell House in Huddersfield was built thanks to funding of £37,650 from the Morrison family and Together for short lives the national partnershipBuilding a Legacy Together Grant.‘

In February 2022, Morrisons launched a three-year charity partnership with Together for Short Lives, a national charity supporting the UK’s 54 children’s homes.

Locally, Forget Me Not fundraisers and Morrisons store staff have raised a further £134,309 so far. The partnership aims to raise £10 million across the UK by October 2024 to support families and their children with life-shortening illnesses.

In addition to in-store fundraising activities, the Building a Legacy Together Grant has been created so that there is a lasting legacy of Morrisons’ support, with the fund helping to refurbish buildings and outdoor equipment.

Forget Me Not has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the supermarket giant who have been generous supporters. They also became the first children’s hospice to employ a midwife thanks to dedicated funding from Sir Ken and Edna Morrison.

Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh opens new garden advice room with Forget Me Not family Stephen Popple, Simone Holdcroft and baby Ezra Popple

Gareth Pierce, CEO of Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice said: “The new Garden Counseling Room is a very welcome addition to our facilities here at Forget Me Not. When we looked at how to expand our family counseling offering, we wanted something that was part of hospice but not in hospice. Russell House is a happy, welcoming place, but not every family wants to return to the main building regularly after losing a child. So by having this quiet and comfortable space in our grounds, we make it easier for families to access the counseling that is so vital to supporting them.”

“It will also be a space where we can hold some of our peer support and sibling support group sessions. Having a sibling with a life-shortening condition can be incredibly difficult to deal with. Our Sibling Support Team helps siblings explore, share and understand their feelings by providing counseling support as well as creative and fun activities with other siblings.”

Morrisons CEO Rami Baitieh with Forget Me Not CEO Gareth Pierce and Blake Wadsworth who built Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice’s new Garden Counseling Room

Simon Holdcroft and Stephen Popple they received counseling at Forget Me Not after their deaths and also when Simone became pregnant again, with their child Ezra Popple, now two.

Simon Holdcroft said: “I don’t know what we would have done without the advice, therapy and support from the team at Forget Me Not. He really helped us keep going after losing Leo. They helped us focus on the light in our darkest moments.”

“One of the most beneficial strategies the counselor suggested was to stay out. Hearing the birds tweeting and looking at the flowers and trees helped put our minds at ease. I guess it helped us see that no matter how low we felt, the world would still go on, the grass would still grow and the birds would still tweet, so we had to keep going too. I believe the new space will provide a new level of therapy for the families who access it, one that only the outdoors and nature can do.”

Ezra Popple and father Stephen Popple in the garden at Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice

Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh said: “As part of Morrisons’ partnership with Together for Short Lives, we are proud to fund improvements to children’s homes across the country. I am delighted that Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice has been assisted with a grant for a counseling room which will improve support for families. It was an honor to visit the hospice and see firsthand the positive impact it will have.”

Together for Short Lives, Director of Fundraising, Nick Carroll said: “We are proud to see the fruits of our partnership with Morrisons come to life in such a meaningful way. The Counseling Room at Forget Me Not was made possible by the Building a Legacy Together Grant, thanks to Morrisons’ partnership fundraising. The grant, which was launched last summer, has already had a huge impact on a number of hospices across the country, just like Forget Me Not. We know the counseling room will make a huge difference to the families supported by Forget Me Not.”

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