Charity for sick children announces new partnership

Sunday 18 August 2019

A Jersey charity that supports local families with sick children desperately needing treatment in the UK has ‘twinned’ with Jersey Finance.

The Grace Crocker Family Support Foundation was found in 2011 by Sara and Nigel Crocker in memory of their daughter Grace.

She was born with a rare heart condition, and had to have surgery aged just five-days-old. The treatment could not be carried out locally so the family had to move to Southampton for three months. Sadly, Grace, died aged 11 weeks.

Over the past eight years the charity has supported more than 100 families by providing valuable funds so that they can focus on the health of their children.

Pictured: Grace sadly "grew her angel wings" at just 11 weeks.

This includes help in funding flights for family members, food and everyday living expenses, additional travel costs, accommodation expenses in the UK and mortgage/rental payments on Jersey properties whilst they are away.

The ‘twinning’ with Jersey Finance has been prompted by the Jersey Community Partnership’s ‘Take the Pledge’ campaign, which encourages companies to get involved with local charities providing them with both financial assistance and volunteers. 

Joe Moynihan, CEO, Jersey Finance, explained why the organisation is lending its support to GCF: “As proud ambassadors of our industry, our team is very keen to make a positive contribution to our community too, which is why we have worked closely with the Jersey Community Partnership to make our ‘twinning pledge’ and form this partnership with GCF – a charity that has already done such incredible work with local families and that was an immensely popular choice among our staff.”

Pictured: Grace's father Nigel with Jersey Finance's CEO Joe Moynihan.

Nigel Crocker commented: “We’re delighted that Jersey Finance has chosen to partner with GCF. Since we launched the foundation, we’ve provided significant support to families in need, including almost £200,000 in funding, but there’s still so much more we can do. With volunteer support from the team at Jersey Finance, who collectively have a whole range of expertise and knowledge, we’re very excited about the next chapter in GCF’s journey and of the positive impact we can have in the years ahead.”

On Saturday 31 August, GCF’s flagship fundraising event, the ‘Jersey Round Island Challenge’ is taking place.

Last year, more than 200 people took part in the, which involves swimming, canoeing, kayaking, rowing, paddle-boarding or running around the island.