TWO charities have teamed up to help each other in their vital work supporting dozens of families of ill children in Swindon.

Local children’s cancer charity CALM presented a cheque to Bristol-based hospice care charity Jessie May to help them expand the support they provide to families all over Wiltshire.

The presentation of £4,000 to Jessie May was made at one of CALM’s regular coffee mornings at Lower Shaw Farm on Wednesday morning.

CALM chairman Richard Crowley said: “We have half-term coffee mornings every six weeks and we thought this would be the ideal time to get the Jessie May team over and present them with a cheque.

“I was at their Wiltshire launch event and was really moved by what I heard, then our committee was unanimous in deciding to make a donation and help them.

“We’ve been in Swindon a long time but we can’t do everything so we are really keen to help other charities that also offer family support.

“Jessie May are a much bigger charity than us and the services they offer are not ones that we could every possibly provide which is why it’s important that we work together.”

The Children’s cancer And Leukaemia Movement is a volunteer-led support group for families with children who are receiving cancer treatment at GWH.

Jessie May pay for nurses to look after terminally ill children who require round-the-clock care, which gives their parents and siblings some much-needed emotional support and peace of mind at a very difficult time.

They began working with clients in the county last April and the charity has doubled the amount of people it’s helped since then.

Debbie Clark, Jessie May fundraiser for Swindon and Wiltshire, was very grateful to CALM for their generosity.

She said: “I can’t tell you how much of a difference this donation will make for us, to be linked with such a great charity like CALM is incredible.

“Our involvement with CALM has enabled us to provide 10 respite sessions for families in Swindon and Wiltshire and make new contacts in the community.

“We helped 15 families in April and we’re now supporting 30, with another 20 that we’ve identified as needing our help who we’d really like to be able to support.

“CALM’s support group is wonderful, it gives people a lot of comfort, and Richard is a very high-profile figure so his support is immeasurable.”

Richard added: “We can see that as Jessie May grow, they will be able to offer more support in Swindon and Wiltshire, and I know that a couple of the families at CALM will need their help.

“It’s good to work together.”

For more information on the two charities, visit calmcharity.org and jessiemay.org.uk