Momentum is a charity based in Kingston upon Thames which supports children with cancer and life-limiting conditions in Surrey and South West London. Over the past five years we have worked closely with the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital to improve the facilities there and in the future we intend to extend our fundraising to support other local hospitals such as St. George’s in Tooting, St. Peter’s in Chertsey and West Mids in Isleworth.

The projects which Momentum commits to improve the hospital environment for very sick children who spend long periods of time there, or who have to make a large number of outpatient trips. Studies have shown that sick children definitely respond in a positive way to creative and attractive surroundings and that this can even help them to recover more quickly. At Kingston Hospital, our fundraising to date has paid for a beautiful mosaic mural at the entrance to the Paediatric department, a Children’s garden with a special oncology area, a room for teenagers and a room for parents.

Our next project at Kingston Hospital will be to create a new oncology room with two beds, which will have murals painted by local artist Amanda Leggatt. The room will also be equipped with flat-screen televisions and there will be access for patients and their parents to laptops and to other special equipment, all paid for by Momentum.

Other donations are used to continue funding our own holiday home in the New Forest, where we send families away for much needed respite breaks. Also, donations are used to provide the day-to-day funding for the support we give directly to our families. This can be for special treatments not covered by the NHS, or it might be a treat, such as a special theatre outing for exhausted parents who haven’t been out for months, due to nursing a sick child; an iPod for a teenage boy who has to take a lot of time off from school during treatment; or a special wig for a teenage girl who has lost all her hair during chemotherapy.

We have many requests from our families and it is truly wonderful to be able to fulfil their wishes and make life a bit easier for them when they are going through such difficult times. We are very grateful for the support we receive from businesses, individuals and from fundraising within our local community.

Website www.moment-um.org 75 Park Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT2 6DE 020 8974 5931 Email Bianca@moment-um.org Registered Charity Number 106677