OUTLINE
Introduction 1
About the Community 1
Current Situation 1
The Project 1
Main Benefits 2
Conclusion 2
Bibliography 3

Dear neighbours, dear friends. Have you ever thought how many things in our life we take for granted? The thing unfortunately most often taken for granted is our own health and wellbeing. Why does it take finding out that somebody close to us has heart problems or cancer to get us to appreciate that we are still healthy?
Every day we are passing The Royal London Hospital, going to work, university or home. We should remember that within the walls of this hospital there are people who are much less lucky, people who think to themselves, well it's a good thing it's not excruciatingly painful for me to swallow and I can breathe without too much trouble. We should remember that someday we can find ourselves among them. We should remember that someday our friends, or our relatives, or our children can be among them.
I represent the voluntary community “PlayRemedy”. We are committed to promoting the welfare of all children in the hospital. For 3 years, we have been directly working with sick children in The Royal London Hospital to bring them both fun and support. We organise special fun days on wards, arranging entertainment, games and activities. We celebrate Christmas and other holidays with these children. We try to make hospital a happier place for children. We try to make the world a better place for them. Because if our society doesn’t stand up for children, then it doesn’t stand for much!
One may ask why we would apply for the funding from The Community Spaces programme. One may say it is designed to make our neighbourhood more comfortable, more green, more safe and more beautiful. Then one should answer how can we possible make our neighbourhood more beautiful rather than to fill it with children’s smiles and laugh.
The Royal London Hospital provides care for about 40 000 children per year (Barts and The London NHS Trust Annual Report 2008/09). Some of these children have to spend days, weeks or even months there. It is important to make sure that these children can continue learning, developing and living jolly while in hospital. It is critical that we, as a society, support this island of care!
Our community want to build a playground near the hospital which would be open for both children from the hospital and the local area. We all need to remember that children are particularly vulnerable, both physically and emotionally. For them, being in hospital can be a source of fear and anxiety, especially if they are unexpectedly separated from their family and friends. This difficult experience, along with having to cope with illness, can affect their normal development and growth. And we all understand that play is an essential element of the childhood.
The playground would be specially planned and built to avoid sharp surfaces and metal corners to take into account the physical frailties of children. To accomplish it we would need £5 000. Five thousand pounds to provide sick children with valuable exercises. Five thousand pounds to bring some normality into their life. Five thousand pounds to give them a break from the hospital therapies. And most importantly, five thousand pounds to allow them not to feel isolated, to play with their friends from the outside and to feel like any other kids. Is it a high price for the happiness of child?
Moreover, allowing healthy children and children from the hospital to play together will teach them to be tolerant, empathetic and not to take their health for granted.
One famous Russian writer once said: “The well-being of the whole world is not worth one child’s tear” (Dostoevsky, F., The Brothers Karamazov.) So let make our neighbourhood a place that worth something! Let prove ourselves that our hearts are not heartless! Let add up to big differences, by making a small difference! Let remember that our greatest natural resource is our children! That is why nothing we do for children is ever wasted! BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Barts and The London NHS Trust Annual Report 2008/09. Available on-line at http://www.bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk. (accessed on 12.04.10)
• Dostoevsky, F., translation by Pevear, Richard and Volokhonsky, Larissa (1990). The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
• Famous Examples of Persuasive Speeches. Available on-line at http://www.famous-speeches-and-speech-topics.info. (accessed on 10.04.10)