His Royal Highness, the Duke of Cambridge is set to visit Acorns Children’s Hospice on 18th September to mark the charity’s 30th Anniversary. 

The Duke, who will be on a tour of the West Midlands, will visit Acorns hospice, Acorns in Birmingham, based in Selly Oak, to meet children, families, staff and volunteers. He will also unveil a new statue at Mary Stevens Park.

The visit comes as Acorns celebrates 30 years since the Duke's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales officially opened the hospice on Oak Tree Lane in 1988, at the time only the third children’s hospice in the world. Toby Porter, Chief Executive of Acorns, said:

“We are thrilled and deeply honoured that His Royal Highness will be visiting Acorns. This will obviously be the absolute highlight of the charity’s 30th Anniversary Year in 2018.

“The bond between parents and children is the axis around which Acorns revolves. So it is both exciting and touching for everyone involved in the charity to be welcoming the Duke of Cambridge back to the children’s hospice opened by the Princess of Wales, 30 years ago.
 
“We are very much looking forward to showing the Duke the remarkable and life-changing work of Acorns, and to introducing him to some of the children and families that we are supporting.

“We always talk in Acorns about making special memories for children and families coming to Acorns. We know that the visit will mean so much to the children and families staying with us on the day of his visit.”
 
Following the tour of the hospice, His Royal Highness will unveil a plaque to mark the visit which will be placed beside an existing plaque commemorating the hospice’s opening by The Princess of Wales in 1988. Toby added:

“We hope the Duke will gain a real insight to our work at Acorns as he meets our incredible and dedicated staff and volunteers at the hospice and hears first hand from the families and children we care for. It should be such a happy day.”  

In the past year, Acorns has provided care for more than 870 children and over 1,000 families. It costs the charity nearly £10 million every year to provide its care and it relies on the public for the majority of this amount. 

For more information about Acorns, please visit acorns.org.uk.