Birmingham charity gets £1,000 boost towards lifesaving research from 12 Days of Giving campaign
30 January 2019
The charity that supports the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham (QEHB) has received a £1,000 boost thanks to Ecclesiastical’s 12 Days of Giving campaign.
More than 94,000 people nominated thousands of good causes as part of specialist insurer Ecclesiastical’s annual 12 Days of Giving campaign, which donated £120,000 to 120 charities.
The QEHB Charity was nominated by an Ecclesiastical employee. As well as being a major trauma centre, it is also one of the main referral hospitals in the UK for patients with brain tumours and a centre of excellence in the area of cancer. It is also one of the UK’s main transplant centres, and home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine where all the UK’s military are treated.
Claire Attenborough, Principal Risk Management Surveyor at Ecclesiastical said: “The QEHB Charity is a cause that is close to my heart and I’m delighted to hear it’s one of our 12 Days winners. I nominated the charity because it supports much of the amazing work undertaken by the hospital which specialises, amongst others, in cancer treatments and organ transplants. I chose the Heart in a Box Appeal which has raised funds to provide equipment that keeps a donated heart beating outside the body, keeping it in a better condition for longer, so surgeons have more time to perform the transplant.
I chose the Heart in a Box Appeal which has raised funds to provide equipment that keeps a donated heart beating outside the body, keeping it in a better condition for longer, so surgeons have more time to perform the transplant.
"Ultimately this will mean more transplants can be undertaken with a greater success rate.”
Cathryn Worth, Fundraising Manager at QEHB Charity said:
“We’re so grateful to everyone who nominated us. The QEHB Charity supports the hospital over and above NHS provision. It ranges from providing items on the wards to make a patient’s stay more comfortable to new cutting edge medical equipment and research projects. Examples include providing gifts for children completing their radiotherapy treatment, funding cutting edge new equipment like the Cyberknife machine and supporting research projects such as exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve the treatment plans for patients with brain tumours.
The charity has a really positive impact in the hospital supporting our patients in the best way we can and this can only be done thanks to donations like this.”
Chris Pitt, corporate responsibility manager at Ecclesiastical, said:
“As a company whose purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society, we believe charitable giving is really important, and even small amounts can add up to make a big difference. It’s fantastic to see that so many people have taken the time to vote for a charity that is close to their hearts and we’re delighted to hear how these donations are making a positive difference, not only in Birmingham but throughout the UK and far beyond.”
“The 12 Days of Giving campaign has enabled us to give a boost to 120 charities, helping a vast range of causes, from refurbishing an open-air swimming pool, providing care for the terminally ill, and rescuing abandoned dogs in Romania, to helping young people with mental health issues through surfing.”
Full list of West Midlands charities that received a 12 Days of giving grant:
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
- The Farm Animal Sanctuary
- New College Worcester
- St Leonards PTFA
- Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Charity
- Shakespeare Hospice
- Beagle Welfare
- Sport and Arts in the Community (SpArC) South West Shropshire.
Ecclesiastical staff gave more than £300,000 to good causes in 2018 through personal grants and matched donations for fundraising and payroll giving as part of the company’s ‘MyGiving’ scheme. Ecclesiastical gives all members of staff a personal grant of £125 to give to charity and this is doubled if they volunteer for the same charity.
Last year, Ecclesiastical launched its first Impact Report to celebrate some of the many good causes it’s helped.