The Pied Piper Appeal Trust was established on 1 July 1991 and formally set up in a declaration of Trust on 15 May 1992. It was registered as a Charity by the Charities Commission on 4 June 1992 and numbered 1011611. The Patron of the Charity is The Baroness Fritchie DBE and the Founder is Mr Peter Hickman MBE. The current Chairman of the charity is Mr Roger Head DL and there are 10 Trustees and three vice Patrons: Pam Ayres MBE, Phil Vickery MBE and Lord David Lawrence. The Gloucester Royal NHS Trust provides us with an office on site at the Gloucester Royal Hospital and supports us for administrative services.

Over the last 15 years the charity has helped over 120,000 sick children in Gloucestershire. Since 1992 over £1.7million has been spent on building the new state of the art Childrens Centre Children at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and also enhancing other areas of the hospital. The charity has also contributed to improving the Children's Ward at Cheltenham General Hospital.

Since 1992 over £1.52million has been spent on such charitable projects as the enabling the new Childrens Centre Children at Gloucestershire Royal to be built; on an area of the Accident and Emergency Department of Gloucester Royal Hospital and the Children's Ward at Cheltenham General Hospital.

In September 2007 The Pied Piper Appeal funded a new Sensory Room for The Nigel Hunter Nursery at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. This nursery is a therapeutic centre where very young children with physical difficulties and developmental delay can be addressed by a multi-professional team and recieve a variety of different therapies through play. The new Sensory Room has safe flooring to allow children to explore the area safely. There are moving lights, music and a controllable bubble tower. The room is designed totally for children which means they can change teh experience themselves. The main unit is also mobile so that it can be used in other areas of the nursery for group therapy. The Pied Piper Appeal doanted £9,427 to provide this important facility.

On Wednesday 23 April 2008 The Pied Piper Appeal donated two new mini buses to Milestones School in Gloucester. The School, unable to afford replacements, turned to Pied Piper when they learned that their 15 year old minibuses were set to fail their MOT. New vehicles are essential if the School’s 280 special educational needs children are to continue to enjoy a full range of activities. As a result of Pied Piper’s support, riding for the disabled, day trips, swimming, work experience and many essential curriculum activities are no longer under threat.

We are at present raising funds to create a safe and stimulating outdoor play area for the Battledown Children’s Ward in Cheltenham General Hospital. There is currently no outdoor space at all, which means those children who are waiting all day for tests or minor operations have to sit inside. This new area will have colourful and safe flooring with wind chimes, fun seating and games mounted on the walls. The cost of this project is £10,242.

Another area that we are currently supporting is the child and adolescent mental health services around the county. We are looking to fund five different projects at a total cost of £8,270. This money will help purchase extra equipment and help transform the current facilities into safe, quiet and comfortable areas.

Members of the Appeal, the General Public, Companies, Schools, Pubs and Clubs have made considerable contributions through numerous large and small fundraising events. Individuals and Trusts and Foundations have also contributed to the £2 million pounds raised to date. Many generous people have made the Appeal beneficiaries in their wills, donated by Gift Aid and there have been considerable anonymous donations from a bear called Albert.