A big thank you for epic community effort as Big Push for the Rosie hits £96,000

ACT, the dedicated charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals, has been calling on anyone with a connection to the Rosie since it opened in 1983 to back its campaign to raise £150,000 from the community. With key parts of the expanded and modernised Rosie opening this September, the cash raised will help fund all kinds of vital extra equipment to benefit new babies, women and their families.

Anna Shasha, Head of Midwifery at the Rosie, said: “It is a massive morale boost for all the midwives, doctors, nurses and ancillary staff here to know that there is such overwhelming local support. As one of the region's busiest maternity hospitals, our facilities have been under huge pressure in recent years. That’s why every penny raised this year will help make a difference to ensure we can offer the best possible care to more women, newborns and their families.”

Trudy Harper, Community Fundraising Manager at ACT, said: “Passing the halfway mark and reaching £96,000 is a tremendous achievement. We are extremely grateful to everyone that has been so incredibly generous. Local people have really rallied round – and, because the Rosie is also a regional centre for specialist neonatal care, we’ve had support from far across the East of England. And there is still plenty of time to get involved – we very much hope that our amazing community will help keep on pushing to hit our target by the end of the year.”

The Rosie would like to thank all the donors, fundraisers, community groups and organisations that have helped so far, including:

·       Everyone who donated to Rosie Rabbit at Scotsdales, Rosie in the Park, Strawberry Fair, Arbury Carnival and many other street collections

·       Rachel Claxton in Peterborough who has held raffles, online auctions and dyed her hair pink for the whole of July

·       Tony Dorling in Thetford who held a charity band night and football tournament

·       Sue Dougan, Sam Crawley, Andy Kulina and Jackie Lince who ran the London Marathon

·       Darren Rivers who took part in the Dubai Triathlon

·       The Sam’s Walk team for their 23 mile trek from the Rosie to Hinchingbrooke

·       Romsey Mill Young Parents who organised a buggy push to the Rosie

·       De Freville Avenue residents who donated funds from their Jubilee Street Party

·       Charlie McLaughlin who organised the Shelford Olympics family fun day

·       Jon Moss in Clacton-on-Sea who held a golf day.

Rosie wristband stockists including A1 Trophies; the Cambridge News; the Castle and Cambridge Blue pubs; Caffe Nero in Cambridge; Chesterton Road Spar; Chippy’s in Haverhill; Daisy Chain gifts in Histon; Gymophobics; Heffers Booksellers; John Lewis staff shop; Kwik-Fit in Cherry Hinton; The White Swan, Quy; The White Horse in Ridgewell, Essex; The Grapes public house; Spirit Health Club at the Holiday Inn Impington; and Beckwith Dentists in Saffron Walden.

Businesses such as Ridgeons and Bright Publishing, which are among the caring companies that have chosen the Rosie as their charity of the year.

Children, students and staff at the Perse School; Histon & Impington Infants School; Ridgefield Primary School; Chesterton Community College; Anglia Ruskin University; Mepal and Witcham CE Primary School; Grasshoppers Day Nursery; Bewick Bridge Primary School; St Bedes Inter Church School; Linton Village College; Hurworth House School; The Perse Pelican School; and the Perse Preparatory School; who have all been busy with non-uniform days, cake sales and all kinds of fun-filled ways to raise funds.

Plus Bassingbourn Parish Church; Evergreen Florists; the Gog Magog Farm Shop; Farrans Construction Ltd; and Yorkshire Building Society.

Fundraising for the Big Push will continue throughout 2012 and there are lots of easy ways for anyone and any organisation to get involved – for more details please go to: www.therosiecampaign.org.uk or call 01223 217757.

 

About the Rosie Hospital Campaign

The Rosie Hospital is recognised as one of the finest maternity hospitals in the country. Supported by charitable funding, the Rosie opened in 1983, since when much has changed. It was designed for approximately 4,000 births a year. In 2010-11 almost 5,800 babies were born at the Rosie and by 2020 that number is expected to increase to 7,500.

The new three-storey extension will almost double the size of the existing maternity unit and mean the Rosie can continue to offer pregnant women, their families and new babies the very best standard of care. New facilities include:


·       A brand new midwife-led birth centre with ten en-suite rooms for women with a low risk pregnancy

·       An expanded Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with 58 cots for babies born early or in need of specialist attention

·       A new residential centre with eight en-suite bedrooms, a rest area and kitchen. This will be available for parents that have babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

·       A new Fetal Medicine and Day Assessment Unit for monitoring pregnant women and fetal development

·       A dedicated counselling suite offering professional support when outcomes are not as planned.

For patients and staff these new world-class resources will make an enormous day-to-day difference. With extra space available, staff will be able to help more women give birth in the comfort of their local hospital. The transformed Rosie will be a regional centre of clinical excellence for training and will aim to set new standards of care by advancing antenatal and neonatal development through research.
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