Face to Face

Connor's House is going on the road! Tuesday morning Deb and I will be leaving for the UK as part of British Airways Face to Face program. The Face to Face program asked companies to submit essays describing why a face to face meeting, anywhere British Airways flies, would help grow their business.

The model that Connor's House is largely based on originated in Oxford England in 1982 at a place called Helen House. Today there are 42 children's hospice houses across the UK (compare that to 1 in the US).

We submitted an essay, to Face to Face, for Connor's House discussing how the opportunity to visit the children's hospice houses in the UK would provide us with an invaluable opportunity to learn first hand from the pioneers in the field of children's hospice and palliative care services. And surprise surprise, British Airways agreed with us. They selected Connor's House as one the winners and are giving us two round trip tickets to the UK.

Over the next two and a half weeks we will travel across the UK from London to Scotland and back spending time with 10 different children's charities that between them operate 14 children's hospice houses. We will also be meeting with officials from the National Health Service (NHS) to learn about the services offered through the UK health system to children with complex health care needs.

This is an amazing opportunity for us and we can't wait to see what we learn and how it will enhance our thinking and improve our plans for Connor's House. We will be sharing what we learn as we go so stay tuned...