Zoe's Place Liverpool: Merseyrail launches 'A pound for Zoe's Place' campaign in bid to save baby hospice

The hospice, which launched in 1995, announced earlier this month that it forced to close by the end of the year, if it does not raise £5 million to secure a new home.

The current site in West Derby offers respite, palliative and end of life care for children up to the age of five-years-old, and can house four children at any one time, with specialists working to make “every moment” of their childhoods count. But, its lease ends in nine months. The charity aimed to build a new hospice nearby - which was given planning permission in September - but there is ‘insufficient time to construct the building’ and a lack of funding.

The news has prompted a city-wide effort to raise the money need to keep Zoe’s Place going, with famous faces speaking out in support of the charity, local brands making large donations and MPs raising its potential closure in Parliament.

Now, the Liverpool City Region’s rail operator, Merseyrail, has joined the fundraising efforts and launched its ‘A Pound for Zoe’s Place’ campaign. Running for the next four weeks, customers purchasing rail tickets at any Merseyrail ticket office will be invited to donate £1 for the hospice.

Discussing the initiative, Merseyrail Managing Director, Neil Grabham, said: “This hospice has been a lifeline for countless families, and we want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to contribute to saving this vital service.”

In addition to individual contributions from customers, Merseyrail will also be making a donation to support the hospice’s campaign.

Around £2.8 million has been raised over the past few weeks to help save Zoe’s Place and local business leaders and politicians have confirmed plans to create a 'Zoe's Place 2.0'

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