THE daughter of the woman who inspired the creation of children’s hospice Julia’s House has become the new manager of its Broadstone charity shop.

Natasha Valentine, daughter of the paediatric nurse Julia Perks, began volunteering at the Creekmoor shop four years ago.

Within a year, she joined the Julia’s House staff as a part-time sales assistant and will now be heading up the Broadstone team, which recently moved into its new premises.

Natasha said: “I have loved being involved with Julia’s House and watching it evolve. I’m incredibly proud of the legacy that mum has created, and I am so very excited about the opportunity to help the charity grow and succeed. I look forward to welcoming customers, old and new.”

Although Julia’s House is named after Julia Perks, it was her friend Mike Wise who founded the charity.

Julia sadly died of cancer before she could realise her dream to open the children’s hospice, Mike, along with a small group of supporters, took up the baton and got the whole charity off the ground through fundraising and then employing the first two community nurses.

Now, Julia’s House supports children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions across Dorset and Wiltshire.

The majority of these children are unlikely to live into adulthood, but Julia’s House provides frequent respite and end-of-life care for families both in its Corfe Mullen-based children’s hospice and in their homes across the two counties.

The charity is building a new hospice in Devizes, scheduled to open this year.

It was only last month that the charity’s Broadstone shop opened at a new premises on Lower Blandford Road. It was officially opened by Julia’s House patron Debra Stephenson.

The charity said the new location and modern interior was proving to be “a big hit with customers”.

The shop recently took £1,000 in just one day, and stock is selling so fast the shop is now appealing for more donations to help meet demand.

Tracy Stanley, retail manager, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve had from local businesses and we’ve had incredible feedback from customers – the comments book is nearly full. We’ve certainly been welcomed with open arms.”