What we do
We launched in June 2008 and have arranged 130 successful holidays since then.
We manage The Directory, which is a register of all holiday homes where the owner is happy to 'bank' some spare time to families desperately in need of a break. Healthcare professionals know that we hold this list and can 'withdraw' a week at a time for those young families they know would benefit most - families where parents or children are terminally ill or bereaved.
Homes with Heart is an organisation run with the support of friends and family, homeowners and holiday companies. It was founded at and is still managed at a kitchen table in Surrey. Jane's friends’ daughter had been suffering from cancer and the prognosis wasn't good. She'd seen how few holiday insurance companies would cover them and Liz had already lost three holiday deposits because of Abbie’s illness. Booking a regular holiday home and losing another deposit was not an option. After trying to lend her own holiday house without sucess, Homes with Heart was born. Not only do we manage The Directory, but also we liaise with holiday companies and housekeepers, so that families simply need to pack and go.
Holiday home owners from the UK and abroad are welcome to join The Directory. Whilst our first years have been solely dedicated to UK homes, we are increasingly being offered homes abroad and are happy to include them. Treatments and travel costs permitting, we look forward to finding the right family to enjoy them.
