Honourable Heroes

Young Fundraiser of the Year 

Samuel Stables-Mooney

Nine-year-old Samuel was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning he only has half a working heart. At 10 days old he suffered two cardiac arrests which sadly resulted in a brain injury. He was placed on Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) for four days and over the next three years he had three open-heart surgeries.

Since he was 18 months old, Samuel has been fundraising for our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and has so far raised over an amazing £8,000. He has organised events including tombolas, run in the Great Birmingham 1.5km mini marathon, grew his hair during lockdown and, most recently, took part in a gruelling 6km Wolf Run obstacle course, accompanied by his dad. For someone with only half a working heart this was a huge challenge, but Samuel didn’t let it beat him, managing to cross the finish line with a smile – albeit a tired one – on his face.

Samuel is keen to continue fundraising to say thank you to our hospital. We want to return the favour and say a huge thank you  Samuel, you’re a superstar.

Superstar Fundraiser

Eva Abley

Eva shot to fame last year after appearing on Britain’s Got Talent. She decided to put her new-found fame to good use and fundraise for us with a star-studded night of entertainment at a magnificent ball. The evening raised over £15,000 and featured sets from some amazingly talented stars from the hit TV show, as well as messages from the likes of Ant and Dec, Alisha Dixon and Rosie Jones.

On the run up to the ball, Eva shared the planning process on a documentary which aired on CBBC, shining a light on our hospital and patients. This helped raise awareness of what it’s like for a child or young person living with a disability or illness and also encouraged more people to get involved in fundraising for us.

On top of all of this, Eva has also been performing throughout the year at various events and asked for her fee to be donated to our charity. Eva, you’re a true advocate for our charity and your unparalleled support is truly special. Thank you so much.

Volunteer of the Year

Maneth Wijerathne

Maneth joined our team as an office volunteer last year and has proved himself to be a huge asset. Giving up his time every Wednesday, Maneth has supported us with the posting of numerous mailings and fundraising packs, engaged with customer and supporters in our Fundraising Hub and has sourced exciting prizes for our Big Spring Raffle. He is an invaluable resource to everyone in the team and we’ve questioned how we ever managed things without him.

As well as his regular office volunteering day, he also supports us at our events and collections and went one step further at our dragon boat race last year to become a rower and drummer too. Maneth, you’re a shining star and we really don’t know where we’d be without you. Thank you for everything you do for us.  

Outstanding Contribution to Fundraising

David Broad

David has been an unofficial member of the fundraising team for many years. His journey with our hospital began in 2015, after his son received open- heart surgery. Initially, David and his family took part in various fundraising events including the Great Birmingham Run where they raised over £1,500. David took it one step further and decided to give his time and energy too, becoming a committed volunteer and eventually one of our charity ambassadors.

David went above and beyond at our dragon boat race last year where he became our charity mascot, Bertie the Bear, even giving an interview in character. When he wasn’t in the very hot bear suit, he was a substitute rower for any teams who needed one. David also volunteers at the Great Birmingham Run every year and attended the National Running Show 2022 where he was a guest speaker on the Inspiration Stage, proving himself once again as an amazing spokesperson for our charity.

David is always keen to get involved in every aspect of our charity and we know we can rely on him to bring such a positive energy to any situation. His commitment has been unwavering and now we can’t imagine an event without him. Thank you so much David, for everything you do for us, we are beyond grateful.

Corporate Charity Champion

Hafele Charity Committee

Hafele chose us as its Charity of the Year in 2022, following the care a colleague’s child received at our hospital. From the word go, the committee proved to be a passionate group of individuals whose priority was to raise the most money and make the most impact. They held a weekly sausage roll sale in their warehouse, organised a Christmas raffle with unmissable prizes, hosted the tuck shop of all tuck shops and even became the legendary dancing elves at our grotto at the front of our hospital at Christmas. As a result of this tremendous effort, the team made an astonishing £30,000 in just one year – amazing! Your hard work truly paid off and we’re so thankful for everything you’ve done for us over the past year.

 Corporate Supporter of the Year

BSN Group Ltd

BSN began fundraising for us in 2021 with a desire to do more for its community. The business had been working closely with our hospital on the construction of new buildings at Parkview, our mental health facility, and after seeing first-hand its wonderful work, they wanted to give back. The team organised its own golf day, a sensational gala evening at the Grand Hotel for over 150 people and participated in our annual dragon boat race, getting the team in colourful fancy dress for the occasion. Since it began fundraising for us, BSN has raised over an incredible £30,000 and have partnered with us again to deliver long-lasting impact at our sister charity, Birmingham Women’s Hospital Charity. The team also helped save Christmas by purchasing and building a grotto for us after we were let down by our original provider. Within two days, following a plea for help, we were able to bring endless smiles to our patients and families. Thank you for everything you’ve done so far, we’re so excited to see what you do next and are delighted to have you on board.

Remarkable Partnership

MV Kelly

There are many definitions of a remarkable partnership and MV Kelly epitomises them all. The business’s consistent and passionate fundraising for our hospital has totally blown us away. Last year, the team raised over £23,500, taking its fundraising total to a massive £109,878 – WOW! Its latest fundraiser saw employees take on a gruelling four peaks challenge, all in aid of our sick kids. The team also recently visited our hospital to see the tangible difference its incredible support has made. Thank you so much to everyone at MV Kelly for your invaluable and effortless support, you truly are all remarkable.

Patrons Award

Dr Jester and the Hand and Upper Limb Department

Dr Jester and the Hand and Upper Limb Department have been true charity champions, delivering an

incredible fashion show which raised over £6,000 in collaboration with South and City College Birmingham (SCCB). The event had a phenomenal impact on the patients and families who were involved while also supporting the students at SCCB who designed and created the garments for the catwalk. The fashion show raised a tremendous amount of awareness for our hospital and charity after Dr Jester was interviewed on local radio station, BBC WM. It was a real statement about the lack of adaptive fashion for children with hand and upper limb conditions and has also given us a valuable connection with SCCB.