DERIAN House Children’s Hospice has launched a brand new virtual tour allowing families and supporters alike to explore its facilities from the comfort of their own homes.
The tour, which is worth £10,000, was generously donated to the hospice by local VR specialists, VR Pixel.
The immersive tour includes full, 360-degree photographs of every room in the children’s hospice as well as its gardens.
The tour was photographed, designed and donated by the owners of VR Pixel, Justinas Jelinskas and Tomas Garliauskas.
Tomas said: “Derian House is a special place for everyone with dedicated staff making a difference to families across the North West.
“It has been an incredibly challenging year for Derian House and we are delighted to be able to offer a way for the hospice to open its doors 24/7, welcoming families and fundraisers and showcasing its wonderful and unique facilities.”
Derian House Children’s Hospice provides respite and end-of-life care to more than 400 babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions from across the North West and South Cumbria.
VR Pixel first became involved with the children’s hospice in October 2020 when James Hall & Co., the company Tomas works for, donated pumpkins and Halloween sweets for the children and staff to enjoy. Moved by what he saw, Tomas decided he wanted to do more to support the hospice.
Tomas and Justinas founded VR Pixel during lockdown and supporting the local community is one of their core company values.
Justinas said: “As a community focused business we are grateful to have the opportunity to be able to highlight the exceptional services offered at Derian House.”
The care provided at Derian House is free for families, but services cost £5 million to run every year. With only 12 per cent of funding coming from the government, the charity relies heavily on its supporters.
Cameron Murray, Digital Content Coordinator at Derian House, said: “Tomas and Justinas have been nothing short of incredible since first getting on board with the idea of a 360-degree tour for Derian House. They’ve been both attentive and dedicated in ensuring that we have a state-of-the-art virtual tour that we will use for years to come, not just for promoting Derian House to fundraisers, businesses and the general public, but also families who are apprehensive about using our services.
“The tour really gives people an indication of what Derian House is about without them having to actually enter the building, and especially in COVID times when we are limited on who we can let in, this tool has come in exceptionally handy.
“We are always grateful to members of our community for their kind donations, and unique things like this tour which VR Pixel have gifted us will be both useful and practical going forward. There’s only so much that photography can do, and this innovative tour really feels like a 2021 way to showcase our beautiful hospice.”
You can view the new virtual tour by visiting: https://www.derianhouse.co.uk/derian-tour/
