Donna’s Dream House is a holiday home for terminally ill children and their families. Located in Blackpool, UK, the house incorporates a new Entertainment Room, Luke’s Den, featuring equipment donated by CSE Solutions, Icon Distribution, Niko UK, Onkyo, PMC and Redline Distribution.
The involvement of the residential technology sector was inspired by the enthusiasm of well-known AV industry figure Ian Morrish, who – along with Donna’s Dream House trustees chairman Len Curtis, project donator Gary Eastwood and installer Martin Hudson from A&H Electrical Services – undertook the official opening earlier this month (pictured).
“In March 2009 I was watching The Secret Millionaire on Channel 4 when the Millionaire in question, Gary Eastwood, visited Donna’s Dream House in Blackpool,” recalled Morrish, who worked in the hi-fi industry for nearly 20 years. “Everything at Donna’s Dream House is free, including tickets, toys, food, etc, and in fact many areas of the town also offer their services or products for free. The whole community works to help make the experience as special as it can be for the children and their families. Having seen the programme, I considered making a donation but felt that with the contacts I had in the industry I could maybe offer to do more. My immediate thought was to offer to try to create a home entertainment room using products and services gathered from the industry.”
Notable features of the room include a 10-seater cinema system with all equipment donated by the residential industry, space for two wheelchairs, a stage for small shows, a dance area and extensive gaming facilities.
Morrish notes that Luke’s Den is the first of 10 ‘Rooms of Dreams’ to be created over the next 10 years – all unified by the simple aim of helping terminally ill children and their families “put to one side their troubles and enjoy the escapism of watching a great movie on a great system”. CEDIA has agreed to help find suitable installers for each project.
Anyone wishing to suggest locations for future projects (which must involve registered charities) or otherwise lend a hand is asked to contact Ian Morrish at [email protected] or call on +44 (0)1372 454366.
