Gold Dust smashes target thanks to incredible support

Over the festive period, the Gold Dust Appeal reached its £100,000 target to refurbish the children’s wards and corridors at Derriford Hospital.

And thanks to the dedication and generosity of supporters, the appeal has exceeded its target, raising a total of £125,000!

Anita Dykes, Matron of Paediatrics said: “From when we started the Gold Dust Appeal, we have all been through a real journey and after setting what we thought was an ambitious target of £100,000, I cannot express how pleased and thankful I am to have exceeded it.

“The generosity of the local community has been more than we ever could have imagined and the support really will transform the experience of thousands of families every year who have to stay at Derriford Hospital.

“Every single person who has fundraised or donated has played a vital role in helping us to create an environment where children and their families feel safe, secure and happy, and I cannot thank you all enough.”

Throughout the appeal, individuals, businesses and community groups from across the area have all shown fantastic support. Here are just some examples of the fantastic support received:

OMCOutpatient Management Centre:

The Outpatient Management Centre nominated Gold Dust as their charity of the year and organised several fundraising events to raise funds. This included a fundraising evening, a ‘guess how many sweets are in the jar’ game, an impressive raffle, a stepathon, with the aim of walking two million steps throughout the month of August, a tuck shop and much more. In total, the team raised an impressive £3,019.55.

Plymouth Citybus:

Following a visit to our children’s wards from Richard Stevens, Managing Director of Citybus, the company kindly made the Gold Dust Appeal their charity of the year and pledged to donate £10,000.

Through various fundraising events, including a team taking part in the Superhero Abseil, an annual mufti day and a ride around in the Vintage Open Top Bus collecting donations, the target was achieved.

The ‘Gold Dust Superheroes’:

Throughout the appeal, the Gold Dust Superheroes, which included Hana Kettlewell, Aimee Louis Puttick, Phoebe Tank, Emma De Jager and Maddy Skentelbery, volunteered their time at various events and raised a total of £903.61 between them through the Superhero Abseil, hair cutting, Plymouth 10k and a cycling event.

Warrens:

Warrens, based at Derriford Hospital, have raised a total of £1,000 through selling special Gold Dust biscuits and displaying collection tins. To recognise the proactive charity work that the team were doing, Warrens matched this, taking the total donation to £2,000. 

Crownhill Police Station:

Crownhill Contact Centre at Crownhill Police Station have been fundraising throughout the year and have held bake sales and themed mufti days.

Plymouth Indoor Market:

Through a silent auction and various activities in December, including Christmas wrapping, £560.00 was raised by the Plymouth Indoor Market.

Torpoint Ladies ChoirTorpoint Ladies Choir:

The Torpoint Ladies Choir kindly handed over a cheque for £300.00, which was raised through their Christmas concert.

Emma Cronin, Gold Dust Fundraising Manager, said: “This is an incredible achievement for everyone that got involved with Gold Dust and really is a fantastic example of how the local community has come together to make the lives of local children staying in hospital, better.  

“I cannot express how thankful we are to everyone, from the individual members of staff and teams across the hospital who have got involved, the volunteers that have helped out at events, to all of the children and families who have shared their personal stories and allowed those that have never experienced level 12 to see what a difference the funds really will make.”

The Gold Dust Appeal has now ended, however, our partner charity Children’s Happy Hospital Fund will be continuing their work in supporting the Children and Young People’s Health Directorate at Derriford Hospital.  Please do support them in their aims to make a difference for all young patients, for their families and carers both in hospital and at home.

You can contact Children’s Happy Hospital Fund on 01752 430129 or email chhf@nhs.net