WellChild’s Definition Project!
Hello! We are WellChild, the national charity for sick children. Specifically we are Catherine and Chloe, part of the Families team, and we are working with Catalyst to support our cohort of parents and carers with an improved digital experience; to enable them to better connect with other families online, ask for support and advice and make friends in the post-COVID climate.
The WellChild Family Tree is a community, a community of parents and carers of children with serious health and complex medical needs. We send out newsletters full of relevant information and articles, invites to family-centred events (well pre-covid — faceplant!) and we have a private Facebook group where parents receive peer-to-peer support and make friends with families in a similar situation. Our strapline — Make friends, Make Memories, Make a Change and all was going well, then Covid came along! Our community grew, and it grew rapidly we could barely keep up and thought our next step for the community was to design an app. However, during the Discovery our research showed there is real value in the Facebook group, and that families really like the convenience of an existing social media platform — result!
After completing our Discovery Learning Programme with Founders & Coders back in 2020, we are excited to be starting this Definition Programme with our new digital partner Side Labs.
We are now on the second part of a journey expanding and improving the digital services we offer to families supported by us. Part one was completed prior to Christmas, we had our user research, and we were raring to go!
So, for this second phase, our Definition project, our aim is to refine that group and really enhance the user experience with new features, new community engagement and new skills for staff! I hope our new mentors, SideLabs, are ready!
