UK

15 October 2025  

Volunteers at Radio Lollipop in Southampton are celebrating after being awarded a £5,000 grant to refurbish the charity’s studio.

The much-loved base at Southampton General Hospital has been in need of some improvements for several years.

Now it is set to receive a complete revamp after Radio Lollipop stalwart Denise Norman successfully applied for funding from DIY chain Screwfix.

The grant will enable the charity, which provides care, comfort, play and entertainment for youngsters on the children’s wards, to redecorate the studio, as well as install much-needed new flooring, cupboards and shelving.

Tina Jones, Radio Lollipop Southampton trustee, said: “Our studio has been in desperate need of some TLC for a while now, and this grant will enable us to bring it right up to date.

“Our old carpet will be replaced with smart flooring and new storage facilities will enable us to better organise our games, puzzles and craft materials.

 

“The refurbishment should create a more professional first impression for the recruitment of volunteers and will be a real morale boost for our teams, who are already coming up with design ideas for how the space can be best used.”

Tina added: “We are extremely grateful for this grant, which will pay for all our materials.

“To help bring our plans to reality, we are keen to hear from any tradespeople or local businesses who might be kind enough to lend a hand with our project, which will make such a difference to everyone involved.”

Anyone interested in helping to give the radio studio a new lease of life is asked to email tina.jones@radiolollipop.org

Radio Lollipop in Southampton has supported thousands of sick children over the past 31 years, providing colour, creativity and laughter at a time when many young patients and their families feel vulnerable and frightened.

Based on the healing power of play, the team visit the children’s wards two nights a week equipped with puzzles, games, word searches, colouring competitions and crafts.

The visits make an enormous difference to young patients, adding a touch of normality to their hospital stay. Families and nursing staff benefit too.

For information

For more information or interviews, please contact Tina Jones, Radio Lollipop Southampton Trustee, email: tina.jones@radiolollipop.org

Notes to editors

• Radio Lollipop is a volunteer-run radio station for children on wards at Southampton General Hospital
• Based in a studio on B level, the station broadcasts a 24/7 sustaining programme
• Radio Lollipop volunteers visit the children’s wards between 6pm and 8pm on Mondays and Thursdays
• Nationally, Radio Lollipop was born on 5th May1979 at Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children at Carshalton
• Radio Lollipop provides care, comfort, play and entertainment for children and young people in hospitals. The service to children and young people is provided entirely by volunteers who have been selected, and trained to make a child’s stay in hospital more fun 
• Radio Lollipop is currently in 25 hospitals around the world in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
• Most of the hospitals where a Radio Lollipop service is provided have a radio studio, providing a unique child‐orientated programme of interactive competitions, music, stories and games.