Oh Yes, We Did! Panto Fun for Children’s Service
BCHC Charity treated families accessing the Community Children’s Nurses and Palliative Care service to splendid pantomime performances in January 2025 and January 2026, to help them creating fun, lasting memories with their children.
The Community Children’s Nurses and Palliative Care team works to enable children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions to be cared for at home, supporting them and their families with managing conditions, tube feeding, end-of-life care, bereavement support, and much more. BCHC Charity works closely with the team to help provide the extras that can help these families process end-of-life care or grief, as well as providing items and resources to create lasting memories and precious keepsakes.
Providing tickets to the pantomimes offered families the opportunity for a fun and exciting theatre experience that will stay with them forever. Thanks to kind grants, the charity was able to provide 75 tickets for Peter Pan starring Birmingham icon Alison Hammond and panto legend Matt Slack in January 2025, and 66 tickets for Robin Hood featuring Gok Wan and Faye Tozier in January 2026. Both taking place at the Birmingham Hippodrome, the pantos were a night to remember for all!
One mother who attended with her son said, “We are so grateful we had the opportunity to go; we all had an absolute blast! He loved seeing one of his carers there, but the biggest highlight was seeing his school friend. It's extremely rare that he ever sees any of his friends outside of school, such a simple thing but rarely possible. He was thrilled to chat to his friend about it when they were back in school later that week. Needing carers can feel like a burden to my son much of the time, but the trip was a treat because of that need, and it was a real boost to him. Thank you so much!”
Another family recounted how much they enjoyed their panto experience; “We had a wonderful time at the Hippodrome watching Peter Pan. He loved all the music, lights and noise. It was a lovely day out."
Another parent said, “We had such a fantastic time at the pantomime at Birmingham! The whole show was brilliant from start to finish - full of energy, laughter, and fun. My son and all the family really enjoyed every moment. A big thank you for offering us the tickets to our family, it truly meant a lot to us. What a memorable experience!”
The families who attended had a truly wonderful time, and many told the team that they were “so happy to be able to share that experience” with their families. Rachael Williams, Service Clinical Manager, said, “I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for supporting the team with this. The families had a lovely time.”
Each year, BCHC Charity spends over £10,000 on items like these to help brighten the festive period for patients and service users across the city. If you would like to donate to help us spread some sparkle for BCHC patients this winter, please visit our Winter Appeal JustGiving page.
BCHC Charity would like to offer our sincere thanks to The Patrick Trust, The Cole Charitable Trust, The Joan Wilkinson Charitable Trust, The Lillie Johnson Charitable Trust, The Pamela Barrow Trust, and The Nora Smith Charitable Settlement for helping us spread the sparkle for patients and their families.