Crawley and Horley estate agents give family charity a funding boost

Rainbow Trust Children's Charity Family Support Worker Nicki Phelan, with the Cubitt & West team in Crawley - picture submitted by the charity

Estate agents in the Crawley and Horley branches of Cubitt & West have helped raise Â£30,000 to fund a vital member of Rainbow Trust Children's Charity's Surrey care team.

Staff joined their East Grinstead colleagues last month to meet Family Support Worker Nicki Phelan and hear more about her role supporting families with a life threatened or terminally ill child..

Nicki talked about the impact Rainbow Trust has on local families caring for a seriously ill child. The charity’s Leatherhead based team of family support workers care for over 150 families in Surrey and surrounding counties, helping them to cope in extreme and uncertain situations, so that they do not have to cope alone.

They help families at home, at hospital or in the community, wherever they are needed.

Rainbow Trust Children's Charity Family Support Worker Nicki Phelan, with the Cubitt & West team in Horley - picture submitted by the charity

When a family is told their child has a life threatening or terminal illness, their life is unthinkably tough.

When asked what a Family Support Worker does for a family, people tell us, ‘It’s the 1,001 small things - I can’t put into words’.

Emma Haines, director of marketing and fundraising at Rainbow Trust, said: “We are so grateful that Cubitt & West has made such a fantastic commitment to fund Nicki’s role in our 30th milestone year. It’s going to be a great partnership and we are looking forward to supporting the branches in raising vital funds and awareness for Rainbow Trust.”

Cubitt & West, the largest estate agent in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, will fund Nicki’s post for a year through its Community Foundation Fund.

A further £11,000 will be raised through staff fundraising, including employees from all 15 branches taking part in The Nuts Challenge, a seven kilometre army assault course on September 4.

Christopher Nathan, regional managing director at Cubitt & West, said: “We have been supporting Rainbow Trust for over 10 years now and have the utmost admiration for Nicki and her co-workers, the care they provide is second to none.”

Rainbow Trust is a national charity celebrating its 30th anniversary throughout 2016.

The charity offers emotional and practical support for the whole family; from their child’s diagnosis, during treatment and, if needed, through bereavement and beyond. It relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and thanks to its generous supporters it has helped over 2,000 families in England.

To help Cubitt & West staff hit their £11,000 team target, donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/teams/CubittandWestNuts Challenge