Last Friday, 16 August, the staff and pupils of Hillcrest Primary School in KwaZulu Natal participated in a fun-filled ‘Funky Hat Day’ to raise awareness of children’s hospices and palliative care services and money for Patch South Africa.

Deputy Principal, Mrs Jenny Scott, and the school’s Head Leaders hand over the cheque to Sue Boucher

The children, who were encouraged to come to school wearing a funky hat and to bring a donation, enjoyed showing off their crazy headgear all for a good cause. The school raised an impressive amount of R11,102.50  and handed the cheque over to Sue Boucher, a founding committee member of PatchSA and present Communications Consultant.

The day was a forerunner to the global ‘Hats On 4 Children’s Palliative Care’ Day held annually on the second Friday in October. The purpose of this day is to create awareness about the vital work being done by children’s hospices and palliative care services in our country and globally. This year, ‘Hats On 4 CPC’ falls on Friday 11 October and Hillcrest Primary School encourages all local schools to follow their example and hold a similar event on or around the day.

Sue Boucher, Patch spokesperson and communications consultant to the organisation, said, “We are extremely grateful to the staff and the wonderful children of Hillcrest Primary School for taking part in this ‘Funky Hat Day’ and for their continued support. This is the second year in a row they have held a ‘Funky Hat Day’ and given a generous donation in support of these medically fragile children and their families.”

HPS children and their teacher show off their ‘Funky Hats’ in support of Patch

Estimates show that there are around 800,000 to one million children in South Africa who have medically complex conditions that are life-threatening and potentially life-shortening. Palliative care provides these children and their families with the holistic support they need, offering relief from unnecessary suffering while promoting the best possible quality of life.  At present only 5% of affected children are able to access these services. Patch works to improve these statistics by providing relevant training to healthcare professionals while also advocating to government stakeholders to implement their palliative care policy throughout the country.

Click here to find out more about how you can support Patch South Africa on Hats On 4CPC Day or email us at info@patchsa.org.