Acorns Children's Hospice receives £200K from Banksy sale

A West Midlands children's hospice has received a donation of £200K from the sale of a Banksy artwork.

Game Changer shows a young boy playing with superhero dolls and was donated to the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It raised more than £14m when it was auctioned last year after being installed at University Hospital Southampton, with the proceeds supporting a number of projects.

Acorns Children's Hospice plans to spend the money refurbishing a centre.

Acorns, which cares for children with life-limiting illnesses, is currently fundraising £750K to refurbish its Walsall centre.

Noel Cramer said the donation "brings us a step closer to the target of our fundraising appeal and supports the ongoing provision of our care right across the Black Country".

The charity has allocated £143K towards the project while the remaining sum will be spent on outreach programmes for families in the West Midlands.

Acorns helps some 200 children a year and has centres in Worcester and Birmingham as well as Walsall.

Game Changer appeared in a foyer at Southampton General Hospital during the first wave of the pandemic and was delivered with a note reading: "Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if its only black and white."

Mr Cramer said the artwork was "a powerful reminder of the commitment and service provided by organisations up and down the country, both within the NHS and children's hospices like Acorns".

So far the charity has managed to raise £600K of its target.

"We are so grateful to Southampton Hospitals Charity for this wonderful gift," he said.