The Odyssey Trust, comprised of The SSE Arena, Belfast, the Belfast Giants, W5, and W5 LIFE, has announced that the Northern Ireland Hospice and Children’s Heartbeat Trust have been selected as its charity partners for its upcoming 25th anniversary year.

The Odyssey Trust, comprised of The SSE Arena, Belfast, the Belfast Giants, W5, and W5 LIFE, has announced that the Northern Ireland Hospice and Children’s Heartbeat Trust have been selected as its charity partners for its upcoming 25th anniversary year.

Northern Ireland Hospice is a local charity that offers specialist respite, symptom management, and end-of-life palliative care to 4,000 infants, children, and adults each year across Northern Ireland. The charity delivers invaluable care and support to local individuals and their families during their greatest time of need. The charity provides bespoke care within its two inpatient units and for patients in their homes.

Lauren Doherty, Interim Director of Commercial and Brand Development at Northern Ireland Hospice, said: “We have already enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the Belfast Giants, who have supported us in recent years with regular donations of match tickets for our patients and their families. They have thoroughly enjoyed these experiences and really appreciated the respite that they offered during their challenging times. We are now delighted that The Odyssey Trust has taken the next step in appointing us as one of their chosen charities for 2025. Both Northern Ireland Hospice and The Odyssey Trust are much-loved local institutions, which receive phenomenal levels of support, drawing the community together, and we look forward to working together in a long and fruitful partnership,”

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Children’s Heartbeat Trust is the leading charity focused on supporting children and young people with congenital heart disease and their families. With a mission to ensure that no family faces heart disease alone, Children’s Heartbeat Trust offers a range of invaluable services, including family and youth support, research, and the provision of medical equipment. In 2023, Children’s Heartbeat Trust granted over £110,000 of financial support to 216 families who need to travel outside of Northern Ireland for surgery or who had an extended stay in hospital, as well as provided emotional bedside support to over 300 children, and their families, while they were in hospital.

Lynn Cowan, Fundraising Manager at Children’s Heartbeat Trust, commented: “Children’s Heartbeat Trust is thrilled to have been selected as one of The Odyssey Trust’s charity partners for the coming year. Each year in Northern Ireland, another 200 children are born with congenital heart disease, often this is a life-long condition, and we work to ensure that our heart children and their families are supported at each point of their journey – antenatal, birth, surgery, treatment, and beyond – by providing the right support at the right time. We know that our families will embrace this partnership, and we look forward to working alongside The Odyssey Trust to help raise funds and awareness and provide some brilliant events for our young people and their families.”

The Northern Ireland Hospice and Children’s Heartbeat Trust were voted for as The Trust’s chosen charities by members of staff from across the Odyssey group, with vital awareness and funds to be raised for both charities through sitewide fundraising initiatives and community-focused events throughout 2025.

Laura Small, Relationship and Business Development Manager at The Odyssey Trust, added: “We’re incredibly proud to be supporting both the Northern Ireland Hospice and the Children’s Heartbeat Trust. Both charities do extraordinary work within local communities, and we’re excited to develop long-lasting and impactful relationships to contribute towards their important missions.”

For more information about The Odyssey Trust, please click here.

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