A children’s hospice in Liverpool has been saved after an emergency appeal raised more than £6.4m in just a month.
Zoe’s Place provides end of life and palliative care services for children up to five years old through its three hospices in Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Coventry.
The charity said last month that it faced having to close its Liverpool hospice by the end of the year because the lease on the property was running out and it had insufficient time to secure planning permission for an alternative site.
But a huge response from businesses and individuals has helped the charity to raise more than £6.4m to secure its future.
The total includes £2.5m from the Liverpool-based retailer Home Bargains.
It came after a Liverpool MP said a process was underway to set up Zoe’s Place Liverpool as an independent charity.
Ian Byrne, the independent MP for Liverpool West Derby, said at the end of last month that the hospice would become a standalone charity and was expected to be fully independent by February.
The Charity Commission said it had held a meeting with Byrne on Friday to discuss the future of the hospice.
David Holdsworth, chief executive of the regulator, said: “The remarkable generosity of business leaders, philanthropists and the people of Liverpool and beyond has ensured that the fundraising campaign for one of the city’s only children’s hospices has reached its target.
“The campaign is testament to the power of charity.”