Our Featured Charity: Reuben’s Retreat

At Potter Rees Dolan, we’re keen to support small charities and the amazing work they do across the nation.

As such, we’re starting a ‘Featured Charity’ campaign where we’ll focus on the inspirational stories of charities and how they were founded.

There are an estimated 49,000 children living with life-limiting conditions in the UK and Reuben’s Retreat is an inspirational charity, focused on providing a safe haven for the families of these children, where they can relax, recharge and make lasting memories.

We met with Nicola Graham, founder of Reuben’s Retreat, to understand more about the amazing support the charity offers.

In Reuben’s memory

Reuben’s Retreat was founded in August 2012, two days after Nicola’s 23-month old son, Reuben, passed away following the discovery of a cancerous brain tumour just seven days earlier.

The care the family received during Reuben’s time in hospital and the families they met in similar circumstances inspired Nicola to start a charity in her son’s name.

Speaking of the heartbreaking time, Nicola said:

I could not bear to think of Reuben's little life being in vain. We were unable to donate Reuben's organs, so I desperately wanted to do something to make his life worthwhile.

The REUbuild project

In April 2014, less than two years after founding the charity, the five-strong team had fundraised a staggering £1 million - enough to purchase Reuben’s Retreat, a stunning Victorian manor set in parkland in Glossop, near the Peak District - just 25 minutes from Manchester.

Now, the team tirelessly campaigns to raise funds for the ‘REUbuild’ of the property, a huge 10-phase development that will transform it into the retreat they envision.

Phase one and two of the multi-million pound project are now complete, and The Lodge at Reuben’s is fully-operational, providing bereavement counselling and support to the parents and siblings of children with life limiting or threatening illnesses.

It also features a self-contained apartment that families can use for respite breaks in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. Nicola said:

Despite our retreat not being fully renovated, we already deliver lots of support work for our beneficiaries.
We offer counselling, therapy, pamper days, trips out, experiences, books, memory making, workshops, rambles and more to support families from across the UK that face an uncertain future or have lost a child.

Supporting the charity

If you’d like to support the amazing work being carried out by Reuben’s Retreat, you can do so via their Virgin Money Giving page.

To have a profile as Potter Rees Dolan’s featured charity, drop us a message via our online enquiry form.