Sebastian's Action Trust Proudly Opens The Bluebells
In spite of the untimely rain more than 250 guests celebrated the official opening of The Bluebells on Tuesday 5th July in the Hampshire village of North Waltham. It has taken seven years to finally realise former Hall Grove pupil Sebastian Gates' last wish, launched just twelve days before he died on Christmas Eve 2003 following a long battle with cancer. We were delighted to welcome many Hall Grove families and staff from past and present to this occasion, giving them a chance to see the purpose- built holiday house that has been designed exclusively for seriously ill children and their families to enjoy precious time together. The Bluebells is the first of its kind in the UK; it will give 100 families each year the chance to have a holiday and a further 500 the opportunity to utilise its extensive leisure facilities on single day visits. The Bluebells is already much in demand; the first families arrive on the 10th July and it is fully booked until the end of October with countless applications still to process, which gives some indication of the huge demand from all over the UK for the measure of support this unique facility will offer.
We are truly indebted to the many pupils, families and staff from Hall Grove who, over the past seven and a half years, have so generously supported the actions of the Trust. Your support has played an enormous part in helping to turn Sebastian's vision into reality and we hope you will all share in the pride we feel in helping to make the lives of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions a little more bearable. We will be holding an Open Day at The Bluebells in September (provisionally the 17th) to which you are all most welcome and we hope you will take this opportunity to see what you have helped to
In spite of the untimely rain more than 250 guests celebrated the official opening of The Bluebells on Tuesday 5th July in the Hampshire village of North Waltham. It has taken seven years to finally realise former Hall Grove pupil Sebastian Gates' last wish, launched just twelve days before he died on Christmas Eve 2003 following a long battle with cancer. We were delighted to welcome many Hall Grove families and staff from past and present to this occasion, giving them a chance to see the purpose- built holiday house that has been designed exclusively for seriously ill children and their families to enjoy precious time together. The Bluebells is the first of its kind in the UK; it will give 100 families each year the chance to have a holiday and a further 500 the opportunity to utilise its extensive leisure facilities on single day visits. The Bluebells is already much in demand; the first families arrive on the 10th July and it is fully booked until the end of October with countless applications still to process, which gives some indication of the huge demand from all over the UK for the measure of support this unique facility will offer.
We are truly indebted to the many pupils, families and staff from Hall Grove who, over the past seven and a half years, have so generously supported the actions of the Trust. Your support has played an enormous part in helping to turn Sebastian's vision into reality and we hope you will all share in the pride we feel in helping to make the lives of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions a little more bearable. We will be holding an Open Day at The Bluebells in September (provisionally the 17th) to which you are all most welcome and we hope you will take this opportunity to see what you have helped to
achieve.
