Neonatal ICU Sister, Jo Richardson, has recently come back from a very special trip, where she volunteered as a nurse to help children with various life-limiting or life-threatening conditions experience the magic of Disneyland.

The trip was funded by the charity, Destination Florida, and this year it helped more than 70 children take a trip of a lifetime to Disneyland Florida. Of those children, six of them have received care at CHFT - Matthew, Chloe, Tadeusz, Layla, Frazer and Molly. Medical care is provided by more than 100 adults including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and non-medical volunteers. This means that the children have one to one support throughout the trip.

Jo said: "My son, Jake, was lucky enough to be invited on the 2023 trip. After his experience I felt I had to give back to others what he had been lucky enough to have - fun, being carefree and having a week away from parents just to be a child."

Feedback from some of the families included:

"Matthew had the most amazing week and me some awesome friends."

"Chloe was treated like a VIP and was loved and cared for by all."

If you would like to nominate a child, applications will open on the Destination Florida website in 2026. Volunteers can also apply via the website. Jo has begun fundraising for the 2027 trip, her Justgiving page can be found here.