The East Midlands’ only children’s hospice is asking people in Nottinghamshire to give a gift sweeter than chocolate this Easter.

Only one in 10 of those cared for at Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People can enjoy eating Easter eggs because of dietary and medical considerations.

So this Easter, instead of giving a chocolate egg, the charity – which cares for more than 300 children and young people with life-limiting conditions including those from Nottinghamshire – is encouraging its supporters to purchase a virtual egg instead. The donations will help to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Anne-Marie Rosak, head of Nursing and Clinical Operations at Rainbows, said: “Unfortunately many of the children and young people that come to Rainbows are unable to eat due to the complex medical conditions they have. This is due to dysphagia which is the medical term for difficulty swallowing.

“Dysphagia can cause problems swallowing certain foods or liquids or leave people unable to swallow at all. The children and young people that access Rainbows with dysphagia will often be tube fed through a nasogastric tube or gastrostomy straight into their stomach or we ensure the consistency of the food and liquids they have is safe for the severity of the dysphagia they have. This sadly means that treats such as chocolate are not suitable for all the children and young people that access Rainbows.

“But, we appreciate that you’ll want to show your wonderful support to our children and young people; so instead of donating a chocolate egg, we’re asking you to donate the cost of an Easter egg, which will help us create magical memories for our children, young people and their families.”

A virtual egg donation of £5 could fund Rainbows’ Play Team to provide arts and crafts fun and learning while £10 could help fund music therapy sessions, which support the children and young people to express and share their emotions.

A £20 donation could help the charity to provide physiotherapy in a child’s room, the gym or the hydrotherapy pool.

To find out more, visit rainbows.co.uk/easter