Bellina Chocolate House pledges support for charity's Big Chocolate Tea fundraising campaign

Popular Belgian Chocolate shop, Bellina Chocolate House, has pledged to support The Sick Children’s Trust as its 2017 charity of the year to raise money for families with seriously ill children in hospital.

Bellina Chocolate House, which opened in 1984 in Cambridge, are getting behind the charity’s annual Big Chocolate Tea fundraiser to help The Sick Children’s Trust give thousands of families a ‘Home from Home’ when their seriously ill child is undergoing treatment in hospital. Last year, Big Chocolate Tea raised £60,000 which gave 2,000 families free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation, keeping them together by their sick child’s bedside.

The company, which has over 150 varieties of chocolates, will donate 15% from every sale of its ‘Select Your Own Gift Box (400g)’ this year. Amit Lodhia, Junior partner at Bellina, says:

“At Bellina Chocolate House we believe that while coffee makes it worth getting out of bed in the morning, chocolate makes it worthwhile! So when we heard about The Sick Children’s Trust’s Big Chocolate Tea campaign, we couldn’t think of a better charity to partner up with.

“We are delighted to be supporting The Sick Children’s Trust this year. The charity provides amazing support for families who are going through the toughest of times and we are thrilled to be supporting such a worthy cause. We hope our support will help the charity continue to support more families with seriously ill children in hospital.”

The Sick Children’s Trust runs free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation across the UK, supporting families with seriously ill children in hospital. While accommodation is provided free to families, it costs the charity £30 to support a family for one night. The Sick Children’s Trust Chief Executive, Jane Featherstone, says:

“We’re delighted that Bellina Chocolate House are supporting Big Chocolate Tea. As a chocolate shop which prides itself on selling a variety of chocolates, from fresh creams to handmade truffles and pralines, they are the perfect match for our chocola-tea campaign!

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to Bellina Chocolate House for choosing us as their charity partner. Their support will make a huge difference to thousands of families, keeping them together with their sick child while they undergo lifesaving treatment in hospital.”

By getting involved with Big Chocolate Tea and raising at least £30, The Sick Children’s Trust can support a family for a night in one of its ten ‘Homes from Home’ across the UK.

Supporters can choose to take part in Big Chocolate Tea at any point during the year and will receive a free fundraising pack full of goodies to hold the perfect event. For more information and to request your pack, please visit: www.sickchildrenstrust.org/bigchoctea.