Background/context Martin House was chosen from more than 100 charities by BBC Radio York for a year-long partnership entitled “The Good Night’s Sleep Appeal”.

Martin House Centre Stage, a competition for young musical performers, provided Martin House teenagers with the opportunity to meet, photograph and interview all the acts and produce a blog.

Aims To inform the listeners about a key part of children’s hospice care being providing parents with a good night’s sleep; raise £120,000 and enable families to tell their own, very moving stories, thus raising the profile of the hospice and reaching more families.

To include Martin House teenagers at the heart of the Centre Stage fundraising event.

Outcomes Hard outcomes: the Good Night’s Sleep appeal raised £250,000 and significantly increased the radio station’s listening figures. Support was gained in parts of the catchment area where previously there had been none.

The impact of the partnership went way beyond these hard, measurable outcomes. The Care Team, after initial reluctance, embraced the partnership, told their stories and gave the presenters unprecedented access to the hospice. The families shared their experiences courageously and openly, finding radio the perfect medium.

The Martin House teenagers attending the Centre Stage heats and final also accompanied the winners to the prestigious Leeds Festival. They published a blog and received professional tuition on taking photographs. They were an integral and important part of the event.

Care Team, youngsters and fundraising working well together and involving the media successfully, even in the most difficult and sensitive of circumstances.

Conclusions Barriers that existed between departments have been overcome, giving benefits to everyone in the hospice. Fundraisers get to know the families without the Care Team feeling that their motivation is a financial one, and are able to share their stories with sensitivity and respect.

Application to hospice practice Other hospices could use these experiences to improve cross-departmental working.