Wilkes unite with Local Organisations to Raise funds for BCH
The CSR team at Wilkes have brought together a selection of local organisations to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity during the festive season. The team worked in partnership with the Finnish Embassy to arrange for the real Finnish Santa Claus to visit the hospital to hand over the donation, alongside gifts for staff and patients.
Together, volunteers from The Wilkes Partnership and fundraising activities from Fiskars, tailors Clements & Church and the Birmingham Lord Mayor’s Charity have raised more than £1,300.
Tim Coplestone, Partner and head of CSR at The Wilkes Partnership, comments: “As The Wilkes Partnership’s chosen charity, we wanted to end 2016 with something that shows Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity just how much it means to us, especially at a time of year when many families with sick children aren’t able to have a proper Christmas at home. Using our close links with the Finnish Embassy in Birmingham, we arranged for Birmingham Children’s Hospital to be top of Father Christmas’ list as part of his one-day visit to Birmingham from his home town of Rovaniemi, Lapland – and also coordinated other local organisations that were keen to give something back to the hospital.”
As well as visiting the children’s hospital, Santa’s day in Birmingham included visits to Birmingham’s Christmas markets, a children’s party at the Council House hosted by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and a selection of local businesses.
Elinor Eustace, Deputy Director of Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, adds: “The visit from the real Father Christmas gave our fundraising team a real boost during what is always a busy time for us. Charitable donations are key to making sure that the hospital continues to be a centre of excellence, and help to make a real difference to the lives of its patients and families.”
Birmingham Children’s Hospital is a leading UK specialist paediatric centre, offering expert care to 90,000 children and young people from across the country every year. The award-winning, world-renowned hospital has a 3,700-strong team with a reputation for excellence in many life-changing specialist services, including the treatment of the most complex heart conditions, chronic liver and kidney disease, cancer, serious burns, epilepsy, neurology and cystic fibrosis. It’s also home to Europe’s largest single site paediatric intensive care unit, a 24-hour accident and emergency service, regional major trauma centre and revolutionary new mental health service for 0-25 year olds.
To find out more about Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, go to www.bch.org.uk