Every pound given to the Byng Road children's hospice is matched from 1 September to 10pm on 12 October. Noah's Ark is aiming to raise £1 million.

Donations to Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice will be doubled from Tuesday 1 September until 10pm on Monday 12 October, under the Barnet charity’s annual autumn appeal.

The hospice, at The Ark on Byng Road in Barnet, is running its From That Moment campaign for a fifth year. It is aiming to raise £1 million towards annual operating costs of more than £7 million, it said on 10 August.

Every pound raised during the appeal is matched by a group of funding partners. The charity’s own appeal page sets out the terms plainly: matched donations are subject to the campaign’s matched-giving terms and to the fund available. In other words, the match depends on how much the backers have put in, and a business or individual can join them with a gift of £5,000 or more to the match pot.

Noah’s Ark supports children with life-threatening and life-shortening conditions, and their families, across north and central London. Care is free to families. The charity says more than 75% of its income is raised voluntarily, that it has supported more than 1,000 families since 2006, and that more than 2,500 children in its area could benefit from its support.

The dates

Timeline of the From That Moment appeal: opens Tuesday 1 September, Glitz and Giving on Saturday 19 September, Step-tember ends Wednesday 30 September, 36-hour finale from 10am Sunday 11 October, appeal closes 10pm Monday 12 October
Graphic by Barnet Live
  • Tuesday 1 September. The appeal opens and matching starts on day one.
  • Saturday 19 September. Glitz and Giving, the charity’s fundraising evening, tickets £30 including a welcome drink and nibbles. One guest wins a one-carat diamond donated by the event sponsor.
  • Through September. Step-tember asks participants to cover 90 miles in 30 days, walking, running, cycling, wheeling or swimming. That works out at about three miles, or 7,000 steps, a day.
  • Sunday 11 October, 10am. A 36-hour finale begins. The charity reveals how close the appeal is to its target.
  • Monday 12 October, 10pm. The appeal closes.

A time capsule and two councillors

The appeal lands in the hospice’s 20th anniversary year. On Thursday 6 August, Joanne McCartney, London’s Deputy Mayor for Children and Families, toured The Ark with High Barnet’s two newly elected councillors, James Esses (Conservative) and Emma Whysall (Labour). The three helped bury a time capsule holding 20 messages from children and families the hospice supports.

McCartney said it was “an honour to visit Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice as it marks its 20th anniversary”, and that seeing the care provided was “truly inspiring”.

Esses said: “I wish no child ever needed hospice care. But for those that do and end up at Noah’s Ark, I know that they are in a truly special place.”

What it means for you

If you were going to give to Noah’s Ark this year anyway, the timing matters. A £20 donation made on 31 August is £20. The same £20 given on 1 September is worth £40 to the hospice, for as long as the match fund holds out.

The same applies to anything organised through a school, a workplace or a club. A quiz night, a bake sale or a sponsored walk held inside the six-week window raises twice what it otherwise would.

If you would rather do something than give, Step-tember starts on 1 September and needs no equipment beyond whatever you already use to get about. If you want the evening out, Glitz and Giving is on 19 September; more Barnet events are on our things to do in Barnet page.

Sources

Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice is at The Ark, Byng Road, Barnet EN5 4NP, registered charity number 1081156 and company number 3901606. Barnet Live has no financial relationship with the charity and receives nothing from donations made through the links above.