Perspex Distribution are proud to have recently supported the popular CBBC Channel children’s makeover series ‘The Dengineers’ on a special episode that aired last weekend.
Over the summer, The Dengineers visited Claire House Children’s Hospice in Liverpool, a BBC Children in Need supported charity, to build their biggest den yet, and Perspex® acrylic was used to help create a magical Party Zone and accessible zip wire cage for patients and visitors of Claire House to enjoy.
A range of yellows, reds, blues and greens were supplied from the Perspex® acrylic factory which were then cut into various decorative shapes for the interactive zones.
The episode can be viewed on the BBC iplayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbbc/episode/b09hwg2h/the-dengineers-series-3-5-the-dengineers-community-den-special.
When seeking support for the project, show designers provided us with some background on the difference the build will make to patients of Claire House.
“The Dengineers is a popular CBBC programme that builds dens for deserving children across the UK. In its 3rd series, we have made some truly memorable dens that have changed the lives of some very special children. Most of the dens we build are for individual children in their back gardens however every series we also do a Community Den that can serve a wider range of children. In previous series we have built dens for a specialist school for children with complex medical conditions and a community centre that helped kids in a disadvantaged neighbourhood.
In this series we are building a den for Claire House children’s hospice which is a Children in Need supported charity. They already do amazing work at their hospice at the Wirral but they found that many families weren’t willing to travel there as they preferred to keep their children near to their local hospital. They were keen to reach more families so they have acquired a new site near Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. This new site will start by offering day services this summer and in the coming years they will build a second hospice there. However, their outside areas are understandably low down on their priority and are currently inaccessible to most of the children that use the hospice. This is where we come in. We are going to build them their own dream den, it will be a fantastic tree village that is designed and tailored specifically for the children and their families.
These children have life limiting conditions and cannot play like other children their age. Not only do they have regular spells in hospital, they cannot run and jump with their siblings when they are at home. Our den will give them a space that they can all play in and somewhere they can make happy memories together. It will be used by the children, their siblings and families and we are also involving bereaved siblings. These siblings will be telling the story of their brother or sister and explaining how much the hospice helped their family. Many of the bereaved siblings still have a close connection to Claire House.
Our aim is to give these children something for them, a den that they help to design and build and an experience that money cannot buy. “
To find out more about Claire House Childrens Hospice visit www.clairehouse.org.uk/about-us.