React

React is a UK-registered charity founded in 1989 to enhance the quality of life for children with life-shortening illnesses by delivering urgent, practical aid and essential equipment directly to their families. It fills gaps in statutory support, guided by compassion, responsiveness, family autonomy, and close collaboration with paediatric palliative care professionals. With over 15,000 requests fulfilled UK-wide, React emphasises swift action to grant comfort, dignity, and independence to children facing terminal or life-limited conditions, prioritising low-income families regardless of diagnosis, region, or locality.

The charity funds tangible needs like specialist wheelchairs, beds, mobility aids, homecare equipment, educational resources, respite holidays at React mobile homes, travel/subsistence for medical visits, and end-of-life expenses such as funerals or memorials. Support targets immediate hardships where public services fall short, tailored to individual family circumstances and endorsed by clinicians.

React supports families directly—not charities or organisations—with no income thresholds, geographic limits across the UK, or religious restrictions; applications require parental completion of a form plus medical professional endorsement (e.g., GP, nurse, therapist). Grants typically range from £200 to £7,000, assessed individually with no upper limit. Unsolicited applications via email or post are reviewed on a rolling basis, with responses within 48 hours (same-day for urgents) and no fixed deadlines.

Distinctively, React avoids core organisational costs or unrestricted funding, focusing exclusively on child/family-centred, rapid-response aid for life-limiting illnesses. Its flexibility, clinician partnerships, and proven track record in complex cases set it apart as a specialist for urgent, practical relief in paediatric palliative care.