Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice has praised the “phenomenal” support it has received from global sports promoter Matchroom Sports and World Snooker since 2013.

During the 6-year partnership Bluebell Wood has received over £550,000 to help support families who are going through the most difficult of times.

Considering it costs £11,000 each day to fund the vital support Bluebell Wood provides at the hospice and in the community, this partnership has helped hundreds of families.

The relationship began with support from World Snooker and included exclusive prizes as well as the proceeds of player fines being donated to Bluebell Wood. This generated significant income for the hospice, culminating each year at the World Championship at the Crucible - Sheffield’s very own home of Snooker.

Star players would also visit Bluebell Wood, creating many wonderful memories at the hospice for families, staff and volunteers alike.

In 2017 the sponsorship was passed to the associated sports promotion company Matchroom Sport’s charitable arm, Matchroom Sport Charitable Foundation.

The Matchroom Foundation, which was launched in March 2017, centralises the charitable work of Matchroom Sport, the global sports promotion company headed by Barry Hearn and its subsidiaries, the Professional Darts Corporation, World Snooker and the PGA EuroPro Tour.

This new three-year sponsorship, totalling £250,000, helped to fund two full-time community nurses to support families in their own homes.

Both arrangements came under the watch of the man who has managed and worked with some of the greatest sporting talents of the past 50 years, Barry Hearn.

Matchroom Sport and World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to have raised such a fantastic sum of money for Bluebell Wood over the past six years and we intend to continue the donations from the Matchroom Sport Charitable Foundation.

“I have seen at first hand the extraordinary work that all of the staff at Bluebell Wood do to support children and their families who are less fortunate than ourselves. It’s so important not to turn a blind eye and to understand the challenges they face and the funding they need.”

Julie Hampson, Corporate Fundraiser, Bluebell Wood, said: “The support we’ve received from the Matchroom Foundation and World Snooker over the years is absolutely phenomenal and we really can’t thank them enough.

“The money has made a real difference to the hundreds of families who rely on Bluebell Wood for support, not just in the hospice itself but in their own homes.”