Ava'S Angels
Charity 1179168
Overview
Summary
Ava'S Angels appears to occupy a focused family-support role around children receiving intensive or high-dependency hospital care. Its distinctive contribution is not clinical treatment itself, but reducing the practical and emotional barriers that can separate families from seriously ill children. The organisation’s model appears intentionally broad in the forms of help it can offer—items, services and emotional support—while tightly defined by the hospital-care context and its aim of enabling family presence and care.
Operational geography
Coverage: Neighbourhood
Operational areas:
- City Centre
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
City Centre
Confidence: medium
Ava's Angels' current official website identifies Birmingham Children's Hospital as the place where it helps families stay nourished and refreshed. This supports a concentrated operational presence at that hospital. The website does not provide dated activity data, identify further Birmingham delivery locations, or confirm whether the arrangement is formal.
- Ava's Angels official website, 'Making a difference' page
The page states that Ava's Angels is 'Helping families stay Nourished and Refreshed at:' and identifies Birmingham Children's Hospital. - Charity Commission Register, Ava's Angels (charity 1179168)
The charity reports providing items, services and emotional support for families of children being cared for in hospital, to enable them to visit, spend quality time with and care for their children.
Remaining uncertainties
- The evidence supports delivery at Birmingham Children's Hospital but does not establish that Ava's Angels owns, leases or permanently staffs a physical site there.
- No current public evidence was found of delivery at other hospitals, wards or recognised places within Birmingham.
- Birmingham Children's Hospital appears to materially enable delivery, but the available evidence does not confirm the nature or current terms of any formal partnership.
- The charity's PO Box correspondence address in Wolverhampton should not be treated as an operational site.
Additional evidence needed
- A current annual report, impact report or trustee report naming the hospitals and locations where services were delivered during the latest reporting year.
- Confirmation from Birmingham Children's Hospital or its charity of Ava's Angels' current delivery activity and relationship with the hospital.
- Details of the frequency, form and location within the hospital of the charity's support activity.
Areas of work
- General Charitable Purposes
Who they help
- Children/young People
How they help
- Provides Services
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
Family presence is the organisation’s central mechanism
The available evidence suggests Ava'S Angels treats parents’ and families’ ability to visit, spend time with and care for a child as a meaningful part of relieving suffering. Its role therefore appears to sit alongside hospital treatment, addressing pressures that clinical services may not be designed to meet.
Why it matters
This clarifies that the charity may be most valuable where illness creates isolation or makes family involvement difficult, rather than as a general children’s charity.
Show evidence
“The charity provides items, services and emotional support for families designed to enable them to visit, spend quality time with and care for children in intensive care or high dependency settings.”
Source:Charity Commission“The organisation describes its purpose as helping families with sick children in hospital.”
Source:Organisation
A tightly focused need is met through a flexible support offer
Ava'S Angels appears narrowly focused on children in acute hospital settings, but flexible about the type of support it provides. This may allow it to respond to varied practical and emotional needs that arise around intensive care, rather than being limited to one prescribed intervention.
Why it matters
This suggests a potential complementary role with hospitals and specialist family-support services: the charity may be able to address overlooked, changing or individual family needs.
Show evidence
“The charity’s objects concern children being cared for in intensive care or high dependency unit settings within hospitals determined by the trustees.”
Source:Charity Commission“Its activities include providing items, services and emotional support for families.”
Source:Charity Commission
Hospital relationships are likely to be operationally important
Because support is directed at families of children in intensive or high-dependency hospital care, the organisation may depend on hospital-based awareness, referrals or informal cooperation to reach those most in need. The evidence does not establish whether such partnerships are formal.
Why it matters
Understanding these relationships would reveal whether Ava'S Angels is embedded in a particular care pathway, reaches families independently, or may be missing families because referral routes are uneven.
Show evidence
“The charity helps children being cared for in intensive care or high dependency unit settings within hospitals.”
Source:Charity Commission“The organisation states that it provides support for families with sick children in hospital.”
Source:Organisation
- Which hospitals, geographic areas and families the charity reaches.
- What items, services and emotional support are actually delivered.
- Whether support is provided directly, through hospital referrals or with partner organisations.
- How many families benefit and what difference the support makes.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent annual reports or impact information describing services, reach and beneficiary experience.
- Details of hospital partners, referral arrangements and the settings selected by trustees.
- Information on funding, volunteer capacity and how support needs are identified.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
Providing relief of sickness and suffering among children being cared for in hospital by providing items, services and emotional support for families to enable them to visit, spend quality time with and care for their children.
Charity objects
THE RELIEF OF SICKNESS AND SUFFERING AMONG CHILDREN BEING CARED FOR IN AN INTENSIVE CARE OR HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT SETTING WITHIN SUCH HOSPITALS AS THE TRUSTEES SHALL DETERMINE BY PROVIDING ITEMS, SERVICES AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES DESIGNED TO ENABLE THEM TO VISIT, SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH AND CARE FOR SUCH CHILDREN.