Staff and families from First Day Nursery Hillside took part in a charity walk on Saturday 11th April to raise money for one of our children, a little boy named Jude. Jude’s journey has been nothing short of inspiring. Since joining Hillside Nursery in April 2025, he has brought so much joy to our nursery family. Sadly, following his diagnosis of a rare and aggressive brain tumour in December last year, Jude and his family have faced an incredibly difficult journey. After undergoing surgeries and beginning an intensive treatment plan, there are still many challenges ahead.

Wanting to support Jude and his family in every way possible, the Hillside Team organised a 10-mile walk from our nursery in Southminster to Burnham, finishing with a celebration at Millfields. Alongside this, we also held a raffle at the nursery with generous donations from local shops, clubs, and services within the community. Together, these efforts raised an incredible £4,621 for Jude and his family. More importantly, the event showed the love, unity, and support surrounding the Hearnah family during such a difficult time.

Words from Jude’s family:

“The kindness, generosity and support shown by Hillside and the wider community has meant everything to us. Hillside is such a special and unique place, full of caring and thoughtful people, and what they’ve done for Jude and our family before and after his diagnosis is something we could never have imagined and will never forget. The fundraiser will give us precious time together as a family, which means more to us than we can say.”