A CHARITY which supports families of youngsters with life-limiting conditions has called for urgent public support amid the coronavirus outbreak.

East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices is urging people to donate online or get creative while stuck inside to help them fundraise.

Nationally, charities are expected to lose out on billions of pounds over the coming weeks as people are forced to stay at home.

The Government is said to be preparing a support package to help the charitable sector in the coming days, but specifics are yet to be announced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

EACH acting chief executive Tracy Rennie said the virus had put a huge black hole in their funding and meant some activities have had to be shelved.

“What we are all facing is unprecedented,” she said.

“We know this is a challenging and uncertain time for everyone, and for EACH the financial impact is overwhelming.

“We are not alone. Nearly every children’s hospice in the UK is in the same position. Unlike hospitals, we all rely on the generosity of our donors to fund our services.

“It is essential we all work together to slow down the spread of the virus and protect and shield the most vulnerable, which includes children who use our services.”

Mrs Rennie said: “At the moment, our focus is on providing end-of-life care and bereavement support, and working closely with the NHS to provide capacity to care for the sickest children, and responding to urgent requests for care and support as best we can.

“But we also need to be able to start offering our services to all of the other families as soon as it is safe to do so.

“We need the help of the public to make that happen.

“We are experiencing a devastating drop in income from donations and the vast majority of our supporters’ fundraising activities and our own events have had to be cancelled or postponed.

“We normally take £100,000 of income each week – this is now down to zero.

“We have always received such fantastic backing from communities right across East Anglia and we are calling on our amazing supporters to donate what they can or get creative with their at-home fundraising ideas by visiting each.org.uk.”