The special build will benefit bereaved children and families across Derbyshire. It will enable us to deliver support and counselling in a new purpose-built building. The new centre is completely tailored to the needs of the children who will access it.
The epic reveal was celebrated with Nick Knowles and the purple shirts with Scott Mills and Pudsey. Sophie Ellis-Bextor surprised the volunteers and trades with a celebratory Kitchen Disco.
Helping make a difference to local children
DIY SOS Children in Need Big Build for 2023 has seen Nick Knowles and his trusty team of Chris, Billy and designer Gabrielle Blackman join BBC Radio 2 presenters, including Richie Anderson, Zoe Ball, Rev Kate Bottley, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Scott Mills, Jeremy Vine and Owain Wyn Evans come together to help make a difference. Joined by an army of volunteers, they created our new building - in just ten days.
The DIY SOS team created a purpose-built centre that will welcome children and put them at ease from the moment they step through the doors. The team built counselling rooms and a bespoke communal area. This will help provide crucial support to children and their families facing bereavement.
Radio 2 helped deliver this fantastic outreach project to build a lasting legacy in the East Midlands as part of Radio 2 in the Park. This is the station’s flagship live music event. It took place at Victoria Park in Leicester on 16th and 17th September. The event featured performances from a star-studded line-up of artists. This included Sam Ryder, who also supported the build on site, Tears for Fears and Kylie Minogue.
Supporting bereaved children
BBC Children in Need have supported the hospice since 2010. Their funding has provided counselling to hundreds of bereaved children and families during that time.
The funding currently supports children going through a traumatic bereavement, helping them to improve their mental health and wellbeing and develop skills to cope with their grief. Treetops has been supporting families for over 40 years. We are now recognised as a centre of excellence for children’s counselling.
Generosity and passion of the local community
Nick Knowles, presenter of BBC One’s DIY SOS said: “The last ten days have been no mean feat; this build was huge and really tested us.The generosity and passion of the local community and beyond really got us through. Seeing the faces of the Treetops team when the new building was revealed was a really special moment. Everyone has put so much hard work into this build, giving up their own time to accomplish this brilliant new building for Treetops Hospice – providing a safe, comforting space for families at a time when they need it most. A huge thank you to everyone involved.”
Jules Kirk, Therapeutic Services Manager at Treetops, said: “Seeing our incredible new building for the first time was something we won’t ever forget.
We cannot put into words the difference that it will make to the children and families we support.
The generosity shown over the build means there are far too many people to thank. On behalf of everyone here at Treetops, I would like to express an enormous thank you to the countless people that made this possible!”
The episode will be broadcast during the BBC Children in Need Appeal week in November.