Appeals

The benefits of play are numerous; children learn to walk, talk, socialise, grow emotionally, and develop social and spatial awareness through play. In a healthcare setting, toys, games, and activities can also act as a means to distract and entertain children during what can sometimes be quite a stressful course of assessment and treatment.

We're raising funds to provide toys and play items for clinics where children are assessed, to improve their experience, reduce anxiety and make it feel a less clinical and more welcoming environment. Some toys may also be used to provide a better care experience by allowing staff to assess their motor skills and development in a more natural and engaging way.

Visit our JustGiving page to donate to this appeal: BCHC Charity's Play Appeal - JustGiving

Any funds raised over and above the target will be used to purchase further items to benefit children accessing BCHC services across Birmingham.

Preparing for and experiencing a loss is a devastating experience for patients and their loved ones, and when BCHC colleagues approached BCHC Charity with ideas on how to provide some measure of solace during these difficult times, the Charity Team were more than happy to oblige.

BCHC Charity spends around £15,000 every year on projects, initiatives, and items to support patients in their last months, as well as providing beautiful mementos for their families and loved ones. These items help families build wonderful memories together and provide a treasured keepsake.

For example, our Bereavement Memory Boxes are a wonderful way for families to celebrate the life of their loved ones. The boxes contain remembrance items such as seeds to grow a forget-me-not plant, candles, and knitted hearts. There is an inset on the lid to display a treasured photograph, and they are large enough that further personal trinkets can be added to create a box of beautiful memories.

BCHC Charity also provides funding for dandelion bags used to return patients belongings to their families, books about loss for the Children's Palliative Care Team to help children come to terms with the loss of other children in their family, as well as the materials for both children's and adults services to create hand print or full hand moulds of their loved ones, as keepsakes for their families.

The dandelion has been the BCHC symbol for end of life services since 2020 and as such was chosen as the feature for the centre of the garden. The dandelion clock itself represents the fragility of life, whilst the nature of the dandelion as a weed is a testament to the resilience of those touched by the lives of those who have passed on. The floating seeds represent a hope for the future; that new things can grow even in dark times. By donating to or fundraising for our Dandelion Appeal, you will help BCHC Charity provide these extras to patients accessing our palliative care services, helping families and carers collect treasured memories and keepsakes to bring peace during a difficult time. Here's how your donation could make a difference:

• £5 could provide a beautiful and discrete bereavement bag for the storage and collection of patients' personal items
• £15 could provide 3 children's books about loss to help children deal with grief
• £25 could fund a Bereavement Memory Box for families to collect treasured memories
• £100 could pay for beautiful artwork for bereavement suites across the Trust
• £250 could pay for the materials for 12 hand mould kits

Visit our JustGiving page to donate to this appeal: BCHC Charity's End of Life Appeal - JustGiving

The Healthy Hearts fund will help provide the extra resources and support needed to create healthier communities across the BCHC footprint of Birmingham and beyond.

The Healthy Hearts project promotes behaviours linked to our services that improve both physical and emotional health. This could be through reaching more people with information on healthy eating, the importance of keeping active, good sleep hygiene, emotional health, tooth care, foot care, supporting the teaching of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and much more.

"Currently people living in Birmingham have a lower life expectancy (4-5 years) than the rest of England and a higher number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease (57.3 per 100,000 population). With your support we can provide extra community awareness sessions and further resources across the BCHC footprint, raising awareness of the importance of healthy living amongst our patients, their carers, and the staff who support them" - Sarah Binks, Charity Manager.

(Statistics taken from The Birmingham Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy Creating a Bolder, Healthier City 2022-2030.)

Take a look at how your donation could make a difference:

• £10 could pay for a resuscitation pillow promoting CPR life saving techniques
• £25 could fund a 'keeping healthy resource pack for a local family
• £100 could pay for an ageing well awareness session at a community hub
• £250 could fund an active sports session at a family fun day
• £1,000 could pay for an AED, cabinet, and electrical installation at a community base

The Healthy Hearts fund supports all projects that promote healthy living additional to that funded by the NHS; this includes but is not limited to those listed above. By supporting our Healthy Hearts appeal, you will be helping BCHC to create a healthier Birmingham. Visit our JustGiving page to donate to this appeal: BCHC Charity's Healthy Hearts Fund - JustGiving