Tag: 2019

Looking at Eddie Hall, ‘The Beast’, World’s Strongest Man champion, stood next to 14-year-old James Rimmer, you could hardly believe this pair would have anything in common.

But when the two met at Hall’s favourite gym, the world-famous Strength Asylum in Stoke-on-Trent, it soon became clear that there’s a lot that Eddie and James can relate with each other about.

At the end of 2018, James’s mental health was at its very lowest point. Despite being one of the brightest young men you could ever hope to meet, his Dysgraphia had robbed him of his ability to write. Schoolwork was almost impossible.

Then, the bullying started. The laughing. The name calling. Then it turned physical. As much as the confident James stood up for himself, a gang of tormentors were determined to keep him down.

VISIT HOMEEDDIE.CO.UK

With his family life going through changes at home, everything was beginning to pile up for James. His behaviour transformed. He began to voice his frustrations out in class. Spending more and more time in isolation at school only made his mental health deteriorate further.

It reached a breaking point. James was frequently being sent home from school in a state of complete emotional distress.

Out of desperation and love for her son, mum Lisa followed the suggestion of a mind-set coach and take James out of school.

It would prove to be the turning point in the young man’s life.

“Since reaching rock bottom mentally at the end of last year, I felt I had no choice other than to take James out of the school system and home educate him,” says Lisa.

“We went through a lot of repair time. James started watching a lot of really positive YouTube videos about mental health and it really struck a chord with him. He was always a fan of Eddie Hall too, the World’s Strongest Man. He looked up to him as inspiration.

“We started working on James’s strengths which were quite clearly entrepreneurial type skills. He buys and sells second-hand scooters using the shed in the garden to do work on them.

Lisa and James soon started work on his Business Studies IGCSE qualification. It was around this time that James saw a video on YouTube promoting the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal – a campaign to help create the first dedicated Children’s Hospital in the East Midlands.

“James has an incredible imagination and always thinks big, so when he saw about the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, he came up with this grand idea entirely on his own for how he could raise money for the appeal.”

James’s idea was simple – create and sell special teddy bears that children could have to help comfort them and reduce their anxieties whenever they were away from home. James knows first-hand how difficult it can be and wanted to help other children to feel calm and comfortable no matter where they were.

After pitching the idea to his grandad Dragons Den-style for funds to get the project off the ground, James decided to name the bears ‘Home Eddies’. With every bear sold, James decided that a proportion would be donated to the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

“He’s always been full of ideas and has plenty of other projects going on, but Home Eddie is the one that he feels passionate about,” says Lisa.

“James was extremely excited about the bears and raising as much money as possible for the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal and so he was determined to make it a reality.”

Demonstrating his keen eye for business, James worked with his mum to design and launch his very own website for the project – HomeEddie.co.uk – so people could buy the bears online for their own children or even for children in hospital.

It was then that James’s efforts caught the attention of ‘The Beast’ himself – Eddie Hall. After hearing about the project and the bears named in his honour, Eddie invited James to meet him at his home gym in Stoke-on-Trent to learn more about his story.

Having spoken publicly about his own mental health in interviews and on his social media channels, the 2017 World’s Strongest Man has nothing but praise for what James is doing and how far he’s come.

“I think what James is doing is fantastic,” says Eddie.

“Mental health is so important. I can relate to James so much. I know what it’s like. I had to leave school when I was around his age too. I was never academic.

“But like me, he dreams big. He’s got big ambitions for what he wants to do to help children like him and raise money to support the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, just like I had to dream big to become World’s Strongest Man.

“These Home Eddie bears are a really great idea. If he keeps going, I think he’ll be able to achieve anything he puts his mind to.”

For Lisa, the turnaround she’s seen in her son over the last year leaves her so excited for his future.

“I’m so proud of James,” she says.

“He has battled through a lot of mental health issues this year, including anxiety. As any parent knows, it can feel totally heart breaking. But how James has transformed this year just shows that when you work with a child’s strengths and find that magic switch to flip, boy do they fly!”

There are no concerns for Lisa about any long-term effects from what James experienced while at school either.

“James is so clear that part of his life is closed,” she explains. “He’s not looking back. He doesn’t want to be a victim of it and he doesn’t want it to define him. He’s just going forward.”

A donation from each Home Eddie bear sold goes to support the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal. Bears can be purchased online at HomeEddie.co.uk.

To learn more about the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, or to donate to the appeal, visit DoThemProud.com.

Leicester’s X-Factor winning songstress Sam Bailey is swapping her microphone for running shoes as she prepares to take on next year’s London Marathon to support our Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

Sam aims to cover all 26.2 miles of the famous London route and complete her first ever marathon alongside husband Craig Pearson and personal trainer Dan Morris. The trio are taking on the challenge to help raise money for Leicester Hospitals Charity’s campaign to give the East Midlands its first-ever dedicated children’s hospital where all children’s services are under one roof.

The 2013 X-Factor winner chose to lace up her running shoes to support the appeal after officially opening the Leicester Hospitals Charity’s fundraising Hub at the Leicester Royal Infirmary in September.

Despite never having run so much as a half marathon before, Sam says she’s looking forward to taking on one of the world’s most famous sporting events.

“I don’t really know what I’ve got myself in for, but I’ve never shied away from a challenge before so I’m really looking forward to running my first ever marathon,” says Sam.

“I’m really proud to be running in support the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal. It’s a fantastic appeal to help give our city a new children’s hospital that we can all be proud of. As a mum, I want to help give my kids and all of Leicester’s children the hospital they deserve. I’d encourage everyone to donate, sign up as a supporter at DoThemProud.com or do something ridiculous to help raise money like I’m doing!”

Sam, Craig and Dan are among six runners taking part in April in support of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal. It’s hoped the team will raise over £10,000 to help support the campaign to create a new dedicated Children’s Hospital at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Leicester Hospitals Charity’s Head of Fundraising, Gareth Aston, says the charity are thrilled that Sam is taking on her first ever marathon in support of the appeal.

“We are so impressed and grateful that Sam is running next year’s London Marathon to raise money for our appeal,” says Gareth.

“Sam’s a fantastic character who has really got behind this Children’s Hospital campaign. We know she will do us proud in April and hope that her many fans here in Leicester and across the country show their support for her efforts.”

Leicester Hospitals Charity is currently fundraising for a £7.5million appeal to help complete the first phase of the new Leicester Children’s Hospital and calls on people across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland and the wider East Midlands to donate to and show their support for this important cause.

People can sponsor Sam in her marathon efforts by visiting her Virgin Money Giving fundraising page.

Anyone wanting to contribute towards making the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal a success can visit DoThemProud.com to donate, sign up as a supporter or learn more about the appeal, or can follow the appeal on Facebook at FB.me/DoThemProud and help spread the word on social media using #DoThemProud.

They can also call the Leicester Hospitals Charity office on 0116 258 8709 or email uhl-tr.lhcharitymailbox@nhs.net.

For fifty years, the Oshwal Association of the UK have been supporting charitible causes across the country.

We are very fortunate that the Leicester Area of the Oshwal Association have chosen to donate £300 to support the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

It was a pleasure to welcome representatives from the Leicester Area to accept the £300 donation raised by all members during this year’s Paryushan holy observance.

Our Head of Fundraising, Gareth, offers a sincere thanks to everyone at the association.

“On behalf of Leicester Hospitals Charity and everyone involved in the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, I want to express our gratitude to everyone in the Leicester Area of the Oshwal Association,” says Gareth.

“Our hospitals are no strangers to the kindness and generosity of the Oshwal Association who have been so giving to us before, but we are thankful for their support of our Children’s Hospital appeal, which will help to benefit people across all of our communities.”

You can make one of the most powerful impacts possible on your local community by making a donation to and supporting the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

Click the button below to donate today or sign up as a supporter.

The memory of Leicester City Football Club’s beloved late Chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, will be immortalised at Leicester’s Hospitals with the announcement today that both children’s intensive care units at the Leicester Children’s Hospital will be officially named in his honour.

Leicester Hospitals Charity proudly announces that both the Children’s Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at the Balmoral Building and the new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Leicester Royal Infirmary will be designated ‘The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Children’s Intensive Care Unit’, in honour of the late Foxes chairman.

The tribute, made with the consent of Khun Vichai’s family, reflects the incredibly generous charitable donations the LCFC chairman gave to children’s services at Leicester’s Hospitals, including a £2million donation towards Leicester Hospitals Charity’s Children’s Hospital Appeal made following the club’s historic Premier League title win in 2016.

LCFC Vice Chairman Khun Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha and UHL Chief Executive John Adler

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was tragically killed in a helicopter crash at the King Power Stadium in October 2018, which also took the lives of LCFC staff Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, as well as helicopter pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz.

The news of the accident rocked the city of Leicester as well as the wider football community, with Leicester City fans banding together in mourning to raise over £13,700 for the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal in tribute of their beloved club chairman.

The new Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Children’s Intensive Care Units will form an important part of an ambitious plan to create the East Midlands’s first dedicated children’s hospital where all children’s services will be located under one roof, separate from adult services.

Leicester City Vice Chairman Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha, son of Khun Vichai, was given the opportunity to tour the children’s intensive care units to be named in his father’s memory ahead of the official launch of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal at King Power Stadium in July.

“This is a very proud moment for my family,” says Khun Apichet. “My father always supported Leicester’s communities because he believed in giving back to the people that have given so much to us. His donations to Leicester’s Hospitals were about supporting the future generations of those communities and making sure there would always be help available to families that needed it most.

“Our family, Leicester City Football Club and the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation intend to honour my father’s legacy by continuing to support those communities in the same spirit.”

*Leicester Hospitals Charity Director, Lisa Davies, says the naming of the intensive care units in honour of Khun Vichai reflects the impact of his legacy both on Leicester’s Hospitals and Leicester’s community.

“It is with the deepest admiration and respect for Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha that we announce we will be naming such an important area of our children’s services in his memory,” says Lisa.

“In his life, Khun Vichai donated so much to improve children’s services at our hospitals and regularly extended special invitations to our young patients to attend Leicester his executive box at the King Power Stadium. His selflessness and compassion for our city and its children was always deeply appreciated and we can think of no better way to commemorate his life and legacy than by dedicating the new children’s intensive care units at the Leicester Children’s Hospital in his name.”

Leicester Hospitals Charity is currently fundraising for a £7.5million appeal to help complete the first phase of the new Leicester Children’s Hospital and calls on people across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland and the wider East Midlands to donate to and show their support for this important cause.

Anyone wanting to contribute towards making the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal a success can visit DoThemProud.com to donate, sign up as a supporter or learn more about the appeal, or can follow the appeal on the official appeal Facebook page and help spread the word on social media using #DoThemProud.

They can also call the Leicester Hospitals Charity office on 0116 258 8709 or email uhl-tr.lhcharitymailbox@nhs.net.

Leicester Hospitals Charity is proud to announce its first-ever Christmas Carol Concert this December, raising money for the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal!

Join us on Wednesday 11 December at the Church of St James the Greater in Leicester for a fabulously festive night of music, and fun.

Hosted by the Reverend Mark Burleigh, the concert will feature traditional carols and performances from the Kibworth Ladies Choir, the Highs & Lows Children’s Diabetes Choir and more. further performances to be announced. Hosted by the Reverend Mark Burleigh.

It’s the perfect way to kick off Christmas or remember a loved one no longer with us in the majestic surroundings of the Church of St James the Greater.

Adult tickets are just £6 and include a glass of wine or soft drink on arrival. Under 12 tickets are just £3 and also include a soft drink on arrival.

To get your tickets, book today by emailing uhl-tr.lhcharitymailbox@nhs.net or call 0116 258 8709.

A remarkable family have raised an incredible £1,658 for Ward 29 at the Leicester General Hospital thanks to a charity concert that, sadly, their beloved father did not live to see.

Music fan Richard Betts planned to organise a charity concert to raise money to support Ward 29 in gratitude for the treatment he received there following a bladder cancer diagnosis in 2017.

After having his bladder removed in a successful operation, Richard spent ten days recouperating under the care of the Ward 29 staff. In his own words, at that time, they “saved his life”.

During his recovery in late 2017, however, Richard and his family would face further distressing news when he was then diagnosed with bowel cancer and would require further hospital treatment.

To give something back to the staff who had cared so much for their beloved Dad, the Betts family planned to hold a charity concert to fundraise to support the Ward.

Daughter Emily says that Richard thought it was a fantastic idea for them to give something back.

“My mum Sally and I wanted to raise money Ward 29, where dad had spent time during his cancer diagnoses, because it was so close to our hearts,” says Emily.

“We organised a charity concert featuring bands Dad had loved to see over the years and he was delighted we wanted to help others in the same situation as he found himself in.”

Tragically, Richard did not live to attend the concert, sadly passing away in February this year at the age of 67.

The concert itself proved to be a great celebration of Richard’s life, as well as an incredibly successful fundraising event. In all, the Betts family, their friends and everyone associated with the event raised a truly fantastic amount of £1,658.88 for Ward 29.

Ward Sister, Julie Glover, was on hand to gratefully accept the Betts family’s donation and expressed how thankful the Ward 29 staff were to everyone involved.

“I cannot say enough how grateful Ward 29 are for this tremendous donation and how much it will mean to the patients we care for,” says Julie.

“Emily and Sally in their grief have put others before themselves and to me this just goes to show what a great man Richard was. Myself and Team 29 will promise to make sure that Richard’s memory lives on with the kindness shown to us all and, more importantly, to our patients.”

X-Factor winner and local singing supremo Sam Bailey is urging the people of Leicestershire and Rutland to support the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal after officially opening a brand new Charity Hub at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

The Leicester-based singing star had the honour this morning of formally opening a new fundraising centre for Leicester Hospitals Charity’s £7.5million Children’s Hospital Appeal.

The appeal aims to help secure the first ever dedicated children’s hospital for the East Midlands with all children’s services under one roof. The £7.5million raised will support the first phase of the appeal, to relocate Leicester’s Hospitals world-renowned children’s heart services to the Kensington Building at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

As a lifelong Leicestershire resident, Sam Bailey urges people to donate to and support the appeal.

“I’m delighted to have been asked to officially open this fantastic new Charity Hub,” says Sam.

“The Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to come together and get a dedicated children’s hospital building for our region. It will help make children’s hospital treatment more effective, which is so important.

“As a mum, I want my children to have the best hospital care possible. So I’m proud to support this great appeal and ask everyone to sign up today at DoThemProud.com and help Leicester Hospitals Charity achieve their target!”

Leicester Hospitals Charity’s Head of Fundraising, Gareth Aston, expressed his gratitude to Sam for opening the Hub.

“All of us at the charity are thrilled to have our new Charity Hub here at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and are so grateful to Sam for coming to open it,” says Gareth.

“This will be a great space for hospital visitors and space to come and meet our enthusiastic charity team, find out more about the Children’s Hospital Appeal and learn how they can help to support it.

“If anyone wants to find out more or get involved, we urge them to visit DoThemProud.com today to donate or get in touch with our team.”

You can make one of the most powerful impacts possible on your local community by making a donation to and support the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

Click the buttons below to donate today or sign up as a supporter.

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Dreams of building the first-ever dedicated, single-site children’s hospital in the East Midlands are closer to reality thanks to an incredible £1millon donation to the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal from the Leicester & County Convalescent Homes Society.

Leicester Hospitals Charity is delighted to accept the donation towards the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal, the newly launched campaign to support the first phase of a major project to create a new Children’s Hospital site at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

The remarkable gift comes from the Leicester & County Convalescent Homes Society, a long-standing charity currently in the process of winding up their charitable activities after over a century of service to the communities of Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland.

The generous £1million donation was formally presented at the official public launch of the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal by Society chair Gill Aires, along with trustees Joan Archer and Peter Saunders.

Gill Aires says that the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal stood out when she and fellow trustees were considering which local projects to support with the Society’s remaining funds.

“Our Society was started in 1903 by a group of industrialists in the Leicestershire & Rutland area to provide a hospital bed for their workers,” explains Gill. “Prior to the NHS, workers could contribute to the society and if they ever got ill, they would be entitled to a hospital bed.

“When we were looking at what projects we could support with the funds we had, we asked ourselves ‘back when the Society first formed, there was a need – so what is the need today?’

“What clicked with us all about the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal was that the hospital is where we started. We see the spirit of the society living on in something as big as this children’s hospital project is going to be and I think that will be great.”

Director of Leicester Hospitals Charity, Lisa Davies, says the Society’s donation will have an important impact on the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

“We are deeply touched by this remarkable donation from the Leicester & County Convalescent Homes Society,” says Lisa.

“Our charity greatly appreciates all donations it receives, but the scale of this gift is truly humbling. It will make a huge difference to our efforts to raise the £7.5m we need to complete the first phase of the Children’s Hospital project, relocating all our children’s heart services to the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

“On behalf of everyone involved in this important project, we say a heartfelt thank you to the Leicester & County Convalescent Homes Society for their incredible generosity.”

You can make one of the most powerful impacts possible on your local community by making a donation to and support the Leicester Children’s Hospital Appeal.

Click the buttons below to donate today or sign up as a supporter.

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Treatment for prostate cancer patients in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire is set to be revolutionised thanks to a new medical theatre trolley funded by two local cancer charities.

Up to 1,000 prostate cancer patients a year receiving treatment at the Leicester General Hospital will benefit from the innovative new trolley purchased jointly by charities PROSTaid and Brown Dog.

The new trolley will prevent prostate cancer patients from requiring a general anaesthetic when undergoing transperineal (between the legs) biopsies, and eliminate the typical five to six week waiting time for theatres to become available, making procedures quicker and more comfortable.

Costing just under £12,000, the trolley will also help to dramatically reduce the risks of patients developing sepsis as they will allow the surgeon access to the patient’s prostrate without having to go through the rectum.

The new trolley was publicly unveiled at the Urology Assessment Centre at the Leicester General Hospital, with Consultant Urological Surgeon Masood Khan on hand to demonstrate the new equipment.

“This new theatre trolley will enable us to perform transperineal prostate biopsies under local anaesthetic in the out-patient setting,” explains Mr Khan.

“This will not only be safer for our patients but will also increase our theatre capacity to perform procedures that can only be undertaken using a general anaesthetic.”

Director of PROSTaid, Rob Banner, says the new trolley will be of great benefit to prostate cancer patients.

“This will make an immense difference to prostate cancer patients needing biopsies,” says Rob.

“It will help make them more accurate, much faster and remove the six percent risk of sepsis, so dramatically improving their treatment journey.”

Founder of Brown Dog, Mark Storer, says his organisation are proud to have jointly funded the trolley.

“We are delighted to provide 50% of the funding for this equipment and new procedure which will really make a difference to men fighting prostate cancer,” says Mark.

“This funding came from people who took part in our 50 mile, 24 hour Moonfleet Challenge in June this year in Cornwall.”

Registrations are officially open for this year’s Walk for Wards!

Sign up now and join us for a walk around the beautiful Victoria Park on Saturday 14 September and help raise money for the ward or department of Leicester’s Hospitals that means the most to you.

Whether you’re a grateful patient wanting to give something back, or one of our amazing clinical staff with something in mind to benefit everyone on your ward, you can take part in this fun, family-friendly 5K to help raise funds!

Sign up now on our Wark for Wards page for just £5 (under-5s walk free) and get your friends, family and colleagues to register too!

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