Hospital charity celebrates 20th anniversary

Our charity, The Forever Friends Appeal is celebrated its 20th anniversary on Saturday 29 June 2019.

The Forever Friends Appeal is the fundraising charity of the RUH and its aim is to improve the experience of patients, visitors and staff by fundraising and investing in projects that go above and beyond what NHS funding can provide.

In the past 20 years, The Forever Friends Appeal has raised over £25m - paying for additional medical equipment and developments such as £250,000 for refurbishment of A&E in 2002, £800,000 for a CT Scanner in Radiography in 2007, £3m towards the Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care in 2011 and over £500,000 towards the new Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Orthodontics department in 2019.

Tim Hobbs was appointed Head of Fundraising when the charity launched. He said:

"It has been a true privilege to spend 20 years working for this charity. I have worked with and met some incredible, kind and generous people. We are indebted to all of our donors, supporters and staff for their support – we could not have done it without them.

"Twenty years on, we want to celebrate and thank our supporters for all that they've done for the Appeal, helping us transform patient care at the RUH."

Celebrations began with a special visit from Spice Girl Geri Horner (Halliwell) who officially launched the charity 20 years ago. Geri was given a tour of the hospital and got to see first-hand the ways that the money raised has helped transform the hospital.

To mark the 20th anniversary, the BaNES Parks team have created a unique summer floral display in Parade Gardens for the public to enjoy. There will be special Forever Friends Appeal cookies for sale in the park's café with proceeds going to the charity.

The Forever Friends team are showing no signs of slowing down with ongoing appeals including raising £2m towards the new RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre, £450,000 to transform Breast Cancer care, services and facilities at the RUH and the RUH Cancer Care Campaign which has now raised over £9.6m towards the new Dyson Cancer Centre – which is due to start under construction in early 2020.

Tim Hobbs said: "We still need support to raise money for the hospital's most urgent needs, so we're encouraging everyone to join in and get behind our current special appeals and major campaigns."

To find out how you can support The Forever Friends Appeal visit: www.foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk

ENDS

For more information contact:

Rebecca Hedges, Marketing and Communications Officer on 01225 826282 or email: Rebecca.hedges@nhs.net

Nicola Price, Communications Officer on 01225 826282 / Nicola.price25@nhs.net

 

Notes to Editor:

About The Forever Friends Appeal

• The Forever Friends Appeal is the principal fundraising charity for the Royal United Hospitals, Bath. As well as fundraising for major campaigns, we raise funds for the hospital's wards and departments to pay for state-of-the-art medical equipment and facilities, research and innovations, staff training and the creation of welcoming and highly beneficial healing environments for our patients and their families. Each year we invest in projects that go above and beyond what the NHS can provide.

Current Major Campaigns and Appeals

The RUH Cancer Care Campaign

• In 2012, the Appeal launched the RUH Cancer Care Campaign to raise funds for the new Dyson Cancer Centre. Through support from the public and major donations from The James Dyson Foundation & Medlock Charitable Trust, the Appeal has raised over £9.6 million so far for the new Dyson Cancer Centre
• The new Dyson Cancer Centre will house a number of cancer services including; outpatient department and waiting areas, radiotherapy with a CT Simulator, oncology ward, chemotherapy and a day care unit, nuclear medicine and medical physics, research and development for clinical research and trials

 

Raising £2m for the RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre

• The Forever Friends Appeal is raising a minimum of £2 million towards this £16 million project - and we are close to reaching our target
• We are fundraising in association with the RNHRD Charitable Fund and the Brownsword Charitable Foundation which is challenging the public to back the Appeal by generously promising to match every pound donated up to the level of £1 million

 

Breast Unit Special Appeal

• Over 6,000 outpatients are referred to the RUH Breast Unit every year – about 400 of these patients will be treated for cancer. The hospital needs to redevelop and expand the unit so it can facilitate an increasing number of patients, provide a welcoming and calming atmosphere, enhance the already exceptional service, improve efficiency and facilitate a model of care to support patients living with and beyond cancer
• Our appeal to raise £450,000 will enable a new area for mammographic and MRI reporting, an improved waiting area and peace garden, enlarged consultation suites and examination areas, a dedicated treatment room for nursing, quiet rooms for privacy and an outside area for private retreats, extra space for breast care nurses to deliver survivorship support and ongoing care to patients after their treatment

 

Timeline

• 1999 - The Forever Friends Appeal set out to raise £5million for the new central heart of the RUH
• 2001 - £900,000 Catheter Laboratory installed in Cardiology
• 2002 - £250,000 for refurbishment of A&E
• 2004 - Over £100,000 donated to the Children's Centre garden and play areas
• 2006 - First Walk of Life event took place
• 2007 - CT scanner installed in Radiography
• 2008 - Launch of NICU 'space to grow' campaign
• 2011 - The Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care opens
• 2012 - The RUH Cancer Care Campaign launches for the new Cancer Centre
• 2015 - £25,000 goes to Cardiology Catheter Labs
• 2016 - CT simulator for Radiotherapy
• 2017 - Launch of 'Therapies Matter' for The RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre
• 2018 - Over £9million raised for the Dyson Cancer Centre
• 2019 - Over £500,000 raised for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Orthodontics department, and £170,000 for Critical Care with support from the Friends of the RUH

Parade Gardens Display

The official launch will take place on Friday 28 June from 4.30pm to 6.30pm with approximately 100 guests attending. The display will be open to the public to visit and enjoy from Saturday 29 June until September.

The unique floral display in Parade Gardens has been put together by BaNES Parks team, led by Nursery Manager Matt Soan, in celebration of the 20th anniversary.

The display will use over 5000 plants which have been grown in the Parks team nursery for over 3 months.

The display will take 2 weeks to install and includes White/Red Hypoestes, Pyrethrum Golden Moss, Petunia Sky Blue, Lobelia Crystal Palace, Echavaria, plus additional season bedding plants.

Special guests also invited include RUH Chief Executive James Scott, The Forever Friends Appeal Chairman John Cullum along with some of our long-standing supporters and various members of RUH staff.

Download printable version