Look To The Stars News: WellChild

Prince William Treks With The Homeless

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0000

Prince William joined a group of homeless British teenagers last Friday to climb a peak in northern England to raise awareness for two charities he is patron of.

The Prince was joined by six teenagers from Centrepoint, a charity for homeless young people, as they walked up Helvellyn, a mountain in the Cumbria region of northeastern England. The group was also joined by members of Mountain Rescue, a charity that depends on over 3,000 volunteers to carry out rescues in the mountains of England and Wales.

Later in the day, William attended a function for WellChild, a charity that provides care and support for sick children and their families, while leading research into childhood illness and disease.

Prince William Meets Young Charity Crusaders

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:32:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Prince William attended a special charity polo game on Saturday and got to meet children who have worked to support WellChild.

The 25-year-old prince – who today becomes the 1000th person to be made Knight of the Garter – was at the annual Chakravarty Cup event at Ham Polo Club in Richmond in the weekend, where he met a group of twelve students aged between 9 and 11 from Bishop Stortfor College, Hornsby House School in South London, and the Catholic School of St Gregory the Great in Cheltenham. The youngsters had the chance to present artwork they had completed to reflect the work of WellChild to the Prince – whose brother, Harry, is the Royal Patron of WellChild – and other guests at the event. William chatted to them and was keen to hear about their work, which ranged from poetry to pastels and other artwork using a variety of techniques.

The schools had each run fundraising and awareness-building campaigns to benefit the charity – an organization in the UK dedicated to the needs of sick children and their families – and had assisted the charity in setting up its Helpline service.

“We are delighted that these children were able to meet Prince William and demonstrate to him the impact of WellChild’s work at such a special event,” said Kedge Martin, Chief Executive of WellChild. “Their enthusiasm to help other children less fortunate than themselves and the artwork they have produced is really inspiring. They were all honored to meet His Royal Highness, and thoroughly enjoyed their time with him.”

The polo game also raised money for the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, of which Prince William is President.

Prince Harry To Train With Charity

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:23:33 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Plans have been announced for Prince Harry to undertake special training with an international charity organization based in Britain.

The Prince attended a reception for MapAction, of which he is Royal Patron, at Parliament Square in London on October 10, to celebrate 50 successful missions carried out by the non-Governmental organization.

MapAction, which was founded in 2003, is dedicated to creating maps during natural disasters that highlight the areas where medical attention is needed most. It also pinpoints important logistical and transport facilities, such as working bridges, undamaged roads, and potential landing sites for helicopters. Volunteers in the field update the maps hour-by-hour, enabling aid agencies to do their job of delivering assistance where it can save lives and relieve suffering.

“We are hoping the Prince may be able to deploy with us,” said Roger Wedge, a spokesman for the organization. “There may be some difficulties with that, but we’re training him up.”

Wedge went on to say that Prince Harry will attend a training weekend in the near future, and will be taught the skills required to operate in foreign countries.

“It’s an idea we’d like to think is possible,” said a spokesperson for the Prince. “Harry would love to go.”

The 23 year old Prince became Royal Patron of the charity in April 2007, after becoming extremely interested in the role of MapAction and its work in disaster emergencies. The organization deploys volunteers to disasters all over the world, and has recently operated in the Caribbean during Hurricane Dean, as well as in the September floods in Ghana, which killed 6 people and affected 260,000. They have also completed successful missions during disasters in Kenya, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Suriname, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

As well as MapAction, Prince Harry is also patron of a number of other charities, including WellChild, which provides care and support for sick children and their families, Dolen Cymru, an organization that promotes friendship and understanding between the people of Wales and the people of Lesotho, and Sentebale, a children’s charity set up in 2004 during his visit to Lesotho. By coincidence, Lesotho is also the location of MapAction’s first ever field mission in 2003.

“MapAction’s volunteer ethos and innovative use of new methods and technologies to meet humanitarian needs has caught the Prince’s imagination,” said David Spackman, Director of MapAction. “As a young Army officer, the importance and use of maps will be second nature to him. We hope the Prince’s support will be an asset in raising the charity’s profile.”

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