A family-run funeral directors has been named as this week’s charity champion after hosting a remembrance service and raising more than £1,200 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. 

F.P Gaunt & Sons, based in Rowley Regis, holds the service every year and invites families the firm has looked after to attend. As well as remembering loved ones, the families are welcomed to light a candle and write and place a memory star for a small donation to the company’s chosen charity. 

This year F.P Gaunt & Sons chose Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity as its beneficiary, a cause especially close to the hearts of company director, Sam Gaunt, and funeral director, Chris Pinfield, whose children have both experienced the hospital’s care. 

Two years ago, Sam’s six-year-old son, Tyler, spent two weeks in the hospital after breaking his femur, during a game of tag. Seeing Tyler writhing in agony, Sam called 999, and an ambulance arrived within minutes, rushing them to Birmingham Children’s Hospital via blue lights. Thankfully after an operation to install some carefully placed metal pins, Tyler made a full recovery. 

Chris’s daughter, Millie, is currently receiving treatment at the hospital for juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia, a rare type of blood cancer that affects young children. Four-year-old Millie received her diagnosis last year and needed a stem-cell transplant to save her life, which, thankfully, she received in June. Millie is still fighting her ongoing battle with the disease, but thanks to the doctors and nurses at the hospital, she’s currently stable and her condition continues to be monitored. 

To Sam and Chris there was no question about making Birmingham Children’s Hospital their charity of the year and their colleagues agreed. 

Sam said: “In memory of my nan, we always choose a children’s charity to benefit from our remembrance service, and after the incredible care Chris and I have witnessed at the hospital with our own children, it just felt so right to make it our cause. 

“In what is sometimes quite a sad and tough job, it’s really nice to be able to catch up with all of the families we’ve looked after over the years and see them come together in better circumstances and to be able to raise money in the process feels so special. We’re so thankful for their generosity.” 

Miranda Williams, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Our hospital treats over 90,000 sick kids every year, so it’s often the case that an experience here is a common factor for colleagues like Sam and Chris. 

“We’re incredibly grateful that F.P Gaunt & Sons chose our charity for their remembrance service. The incredible funds it raised will go on to help us do more for our brave patients, ensuring the best possible outcomes for our families.”