Brewery boost for hospice appeal

March 18, 2006: The Children’s Hospice South West is in line for a boost this summer thanks to a limited edition of 2,000 bottles of beer produced for the charity by Truro-based Skinner's Brewery.

The Butterfly label beer, with bottles individually numbered up to 2,000, will go on sale in Cornish shops from the end of March. All profits will go to the hospice, with bottle number 1 to be auctioned off with sealed bids.

It is the second such venture by Skinners, following a pilot in 2004 with the Fishermen’s Mission as nominated charity, which resulted in a donation of more than £2,000.

The launch of Butterfly will be just days before Duchy Ballet perform The Nutcracker at Hall For Cornwall, Truro, from April 4-8, with all proceeds going to the hospice.

The region’s first children’s hospice, Little Bridge House, in Barnstaple, Devon, was opened in 1995 and supports more than 200 children and their families. To meet the growth in demand, a second children's hospice, at Charlton Farm near Bristol, will hopefully be completed early in 2007. A major fundraising campaign is under way to help towards the £15 million needed to build and equip it plus initial running costs.

Little Bridge House and Charlton Farm will be run as one organisation to ensure unity of ethos, aims and objectives of both care teams.