Patients at Leicester Royal Infirmary and the city’s general hospital, along with families in need, have benefitted from the fundraising efforts of CDS colleagues over the past year.
Dressing up in ludicrous outfits is the money-gathering vehicle of choice for the CDS team. A Hallowe’en event which saw a terrifying number of ghosts and witches descend on the offices selling ghoulish cakes helped them raise £500 for the Leicester Hospitals Charity.
The money went into the charity’s ‘area of greatest need’ fund, with recent purchases including a microwave and portering chair in the discharge lounge of Leicester Royal Infirmary, cordless phones for the pharmacy homecare department at Leicester General, a mini fridge for the blood sciences quality team and games for one of the wards.
The charity is also raising funds for chairs for its chemotherapy suite, with each item carrying a £5,000 price tag.
A Christmas jumper day – and another cake sale – raised funds for the Lutterworth Food Bank for the second year running.
While last Christmas saw CDS employees donate luxury foods and toiletries, this year organisers invited financial donations to enable them to buy specific items for families in need.
The food bank is one of around 1,200 nationwide overseen by the Trussell Trust, a charity whose longer-term aim is to end the need for such facilities in the UK.
CDS managing director Simon Abley said: “We chose to focus on the Leicester Hospitals Charity as it serves the community near our head office and several of our team and their families have been treated at its hospitals. The food bank was the choice of one of our directors, Martin Illiffe, who has supported it for many years wearing his Rotary Club hat. While market towns like Lutterworth seem relatively affluent on the surface, there is an undercurrent of families who are struggling, and we are keen to play our part in supporting people in these difficult times.”
