Thanks for spreading smiles this Easter – Our Easter Egg Appeal was a huge success!

Every child accessing our services was gifted a chocolate egg 

The last hot cross buns have been eaten, and the kids are back in school — so it's the perfect time to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in our Mersey Cares Easter Egg Appeal. Your kindness helped bring some Easter magic to children in care accessing our services and we couldn't have done it without you.

We’ve been absolutely blown away by the generosity and enthusiasm shown by our local communities.

This was our first Easter appeal and after such wonderful support from individuals across the region, local businesses, and our incredible staff, it's sure to be the first of many.  We set out with a fundraising target of £600 – and not only did we exceed this, we also received dozens of Easter eggs delivered to collection points in Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens and Sefton, meaning that almost 500 of the most vulnerable children accessing our children in care services, received a special treat.

Why are we supporting children in care?

Each year, around 1,000 children enter our Children in Care services. Many arrive during incredibly difficult times, often with just a few belongings, bundled inside a black dustbin bag. It can understandably be a scary and uncertain time for any child or young person. That’s why support like yours matters so much.

It might seem like a small gesture, but every chocolate egg donated helped to bring a moment of joy, comfort, and connection for children across Cheshire and Merseyside – a reminder that someone is thinking of them, that they matter, and that they are not alone.

Egg-cellent feedback 

Our Children in Care teams across Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, and Knowsley shared the incredible impact that these chocolate eggs have had, describing the happy faces of recipients upon receiving one by nurses or carers, and the lightening speed at which some of the eggs were tucked into!

Kay McEneny, Named Nurse for Children in Care based at Peasley Cross Hospital in St Helens, shared some heartfelt words for those who supported the appeal:

“Thank you for supporting our four children in care teams across Mersey Care with your kind donations and contributions for Easter Eggs for children in care.

The nurses had the opportunity to provide an Easter Egg to the children in care living in children’s homes, with foster carers, family members, and of course, our care leavers -- even as adults, we all deserve a treat.

All the children and young people were very grateful, and the nurses received hugs and lots of happy faces from all when the Easter eggs were delivered.

It’s a nice and thoughtful support to celebrate Easter for children, and more so for children who are not with their family."

Team Manager for the Knowsley Children in Care service, Michael Allcock (pictured below, right with colleagues), was also delighted at how well the appeal had been received by the public, with Easter eggs being dropped off by local businesses and donated by supermarkets.

“We have so many Easter Eggs!,” Michael said when we spoke in the run up to Easter.  “I took an egg to a young person today and they were so made up! They ate it straight away."

Reflecting on the appeal after delivering more eggs to children across Knowsley, he shared his appreciation for all who were involved:

“The Easter Egg appeal has been amazing and so successful. The generosity of everyone has been unbelievable. When we delivered the eggs the children have been so happy – and the carers and parents have also been so grateful.”

We have been able to give out over 100 easter eggs and the ‘thank-yous’ have been so lovely to hear.”

Thank you to local businesses and their staff

A heartfelt thank you must also go to the amazing staff at local businesses including  Santander, DTM Legal, and Canter, Levin and Berg, who gave so generously — bringing Easter eggs into their offices and then dropping them off at our dedicated collection points as well as supporting our online Easter Egg appeal. We’re also incredibly grateful to Asda in Huyton and Tesco in St Helens for their generous donations, and to the Tesco customers who went the extra mile to support children and young people in their local communities.

Richard Hennity, Senior Relationship Director, North West Region, at Santander, who delivered 91 eggs and £140 collected from staff to our Manor Farm Health Centre drop off said:

“It’s been our pleasure getting involved in such a worthwhile cause. As well as the eggs donated by our staff there was £140 raised for more eggs or to put towards anything else the Mersey Care Children in Care will benefit from. Best of luck and Happy Easter.”

Strategic Lead for Mersey Cares, Joanne Watson, along with the wider charity team were incredibly moved by the positive response to the appeal and for the hundreds of donations.

“To everyone who has got involved: from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making the Easter Egg Appeal such a success,” Joanne said. “We couldn’t have done it without you!”

“The appeal has been supported by members of the public, local businesses and supermarkets, service users and Mersey Care staff who have been so kind in their support of children and young people accessing Mersey Care services. The feedback has been so heartwarming and it’s wonderful to know that we’ve been able to make a difference this Easter time. Thank you also to the incredible staff across Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley, who have embraced their roles as Easter bunnies and have delivered eggs far and wide across the region."

Further support for Children in Care across Cheshire and Merseyside

As well as our Easter Egg Appeal our charity has an ongoing appeal to support children in care accessing Mersey Care services. Our Give a Gift to a Child in Care appeal provides essential items such as toothbrushes and toiletries for children arriving at services who often have few possessions of their own. The appeal also provides pyjamas, slippers and comfort items, which can have a huge impact when supporting a child or young person facing challenging circumstances. If you'd like to know more, click the link below.