THE dream of an Acorns Children's Hospice in Worcester has taken another step nearer to reality after the first month of fund-raising.

Donations and pledges equalling £50,000 have been received, storming towards the £4m total needed for the work to begin on the Bath Road site.

"The public response towards the Three Counties Appeal has just been tremendous," said Fran Winterbourn, community fund-raising co-ordinator.

"We've had lots of calls from people wanting to fund-raise for us or adopt Acorns as their charity for the next 12 months.

"It's fantastic how local communities are taking this appeal to their hearts and are coming forward with some great fund-raising ideas.

"There's still a long way to go before we reach our £4m target, but this first month really has helped to get the Three Counties Appeal off to a flying start."

Of the total cash raised from public donations, £20,188 has been raised in Worcestershire with £3,526 has come from Herefordshire.

The rest of the money has been pledged by businesses, individuals and trusts.

Acorns cares for life-limited youngsters. But care is also on hand for parents and siblings, in the form of support groups.

Plans for the Worcester unit were boosted in November 2000, when a three-acre plot of land was donated to Acorns by June and Willie Sayce.

The charity has already received £250,000 in donations, used to do much of the groundwork, such as secure planning permission, lay the foundations and house the administration staff at the site.

The Evening News has backed the campaign since its launch at the beginning of April.

Side-by-side with Acorns Children's Hospice Trust, we are urging people throughout Worcestershire to raise cash towards bringing the unit to the city as soon as possible.