Helen & Douglas House Hospice started life in November 1982, when Helen House and the children’s hospice movement were founded by Sister Frances Dominica. As the world’s first children’s hospice, Helen House is a special place that feels like home from home, where families can make the most of their time together and create happy memories during their children’s short lives. When a child dies, Helen House are there to support the whole family at this really tragic time.

The children and young people at the hospice in Oxford have received a donation of specialist technology and services worth £50,000 from children’s charity Lifelites. Lifelites provides specialist entertainment, educational and assistive technology packages to over 10,000 children and young people with life limiting, life threatening and disabling conditions in children’s hospices.

The incredible Eyegaze supplied by Lifelites, it works by tracking the movement of the user’s eye. The Eyegaze ensures that all the children, whatever their disability or illness have access to this life changing technology, now specially adapted for children with a wide range of disabilities, giving them the opportunity to play, be creative, or control something for themselves and communicate. Simply by looking at a screen, whatever the child looks at is picked up and recognised by the eye movement camera facing them. So, with eye movement alone you could burst virtual balloons, play games or select letters to spell messages – all absolutely amazing.

London Freemasons have supported many of Lifelites projects in the past, and Chief Executive Simone-Day explained just how important the support has been “Without the ongoing support from the London Masons, we simply wouldn’t be able to continue giving these children the opportunities that this equipment provides. You really are helping us change lives. Thank you so much” 

Chris MacDonald from London Masons says “It has been a great pleasure to speak to the kind and generous people who care for these children during their last moments. I was so pleased to see the work first hand. If ever there was testimony to the importance of London freemasons charitable giving, this was it”.