A very special charity home

November 16, 2022

Two men are standing in front of a new house, shaking hands. There is a real estate board with a sold sign on it.

Award-winning home builder, Henley Homes, has helped Very Special Kids build a better quality of life for seriously-ill children and their families with the sale of a double-story family home.

Located in Bonnie Brook in Melbourne’s outer west, the Very Special Kids charity home sold for $750,000 prior to auction, with 100% of proceeds going towards our holistic palliative care services.

The funds from this sale have helped us hit our hospice-rebuild target, ensuring we can open the doors to the Sister Margaret Noone Hospice at Very Special Kids House in early 2023 and run the facility for years to come.

Very Special Kids is the only children’s hospice in Victoria, supporting families with a home-away-from-home while they go through the most challenging life circumstances. The funds raised for this sale will have a profound impact on future generations of the children and families in our care.

The Very Special Kids charity home marks Henley’s 75th charity home in Australia over 33 years.

On Tuesday 8 November, we held a “Thank you” breakfast to recognise and celebrate all the project partners and supporters who made this build project possible.

Ben Griffiths, General Manager of Henley’s completed homes division said:

“It takes 100+ businesses and individuals to build a charity home and everyone that has been involved is all the better for the experience and reward. Without our trades and suppliers none of this would be possible.”

Collage of three images: two adults holding a framed photo of their son, a group of tradespeople standing in a kitchen eating breakfast, a group of adults standing outdoors in front of a real estate sign.

Special thank you to Very Special Kids parents, Abigail and Luke, who attended the breakfast to share memories of their late son Matty. Abigail shares:

“As parents, when you’re handing your child over to somebody you want to know you can trust them. When we rolled Matty in through the double doors [of the hospice], it was like coming into a home, where the kids are playing, and people are interacting.”

“Everything that Very Special Kids do is so important. It’s not just clinical care but it is supporting our whole family and each individual. No other organisation does that so well. Thankyou Henley and all your suppliers and thank you Very Special Kids.”

Corporate partnerships like these play such an important role in ensuring that we can continue to provide holistic palliative care to children and young people, and their families well into the future.