Welcome to Charity Matters, your seasonal update on all things fundraising here at UCLH Charity. More than ever, your donations are needed to help us make a difference to patients, staff and research at UCLH, above and beyond what the NHS can provide. We would like to say thank you to our wonderful supporters – together we can do more!
Charity Week
Our annual Charity Week in July was a wonderful celebration of all things fundraising, and the positive impact charitable support has across UCLH. Our Charity Week bake sale and lucky dip brought together staff and volunteers, who baked delicious cakes to help us fundraise. We raised a grand total of £706, and appreciated everyone’s culinary efforts, in particular our UCLH charity ambassadors. We also celebrated our remarkable charity ambassdors at a special event. UCLH Charity chair Nigel Keen met the ambassadors and presented them with certificates and new badges to help them stand out as they spread the word about the great work we do to support UCLH patients, staff and research to their colleagues, patients and visitors. The week continued with a wide range of activities including free wellbeing treatments for staff and promotion of fundraising events, and concluded with the London Saucony 10km, an iconic challenge in the centre of London.
Celebrating Excellence Awards
UCLH Charity is very proud to support the annual celebrating excellence awards, in which UCLH staff are recognised for their outstanding commitment to UCLH. We were particularly delighted to see Eimear Finn, head of dietetics, the winner of the staff fundraiser of the year at this year’s awards. Rosannah Dawood, head of fundraising said, “We are thrilled that Eimear has been recognised at the awards. She took part in Santa in the City fun run and the Royal Parks Half Marathon last year, and supports bake sales and other charity activities. She regularly spreads the word about what we do, by sharing and liking our posts on social media, and is also a charity ambassador – a brilliant one at that!” Well done Eimear, and thank you for all you do to support us!
Celebrating play in healthcare week
13-18 October was play in healthcare week, a celebration of the vital role of play in hospitals. We are proud to support the play team through the purchase of sensory toys, arts and crafts supplies, funding for healthcare play specialist weekend cover and a research study which to quantitatively demonstrate the value of play on patient mental health and improving healthcare efficiencies and inequalities. Irene O’Donnell, UCLH lead for therapeutic play and youth services said, “The play and youth team relies on UCLH Charity and charitable donations to support the delivery of therapeutic and specialised play and activity. Our hope is that this ground-breaking research will shine a spotlight on the enormous impact of play in treatment, outcomes and improving efficiencies in healthcare, and influence the NHS to invest in a ‘play on prescription’ model for all babies, children and young people.”
Skydive 25
Six brave supporters took to the skies over Kentin September for UCLH Charity. Skydiver staff members Jo Gelona and Sarah Evans, (our front cover stars, and far left and right, photo left) raised over £2,000 through online donations and their bake sales. Inspired? Head over to the events calendar on our website to find a challenge!
Thank you to the Great London Bridges Team, who are supported by ARgENTUM. For the second year, they organised the 31 mile walk over 26 bridges of the River Thames, to raise funds for a clinical nurse specialist, supporting patients with skin cancer at UCLH.
The team raised over £11,500 and money is still coming in!
Royal Parks Half
We were thrilled to have our biggest ever team take part in this year’s Royal Parks Half Marathon. Over 40 runners took on this iconic challenge in London’s beautiful parks, raising over £30,000 for UCLH Charity.
#DoItForDaisy!
‘Do it for Daisy’ were raising funds for research into haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Daisy May Catterall – Dazzler as she was known – died in February from a very rare disease called HLH, where the immune system becomes dangerously overactive. Instead of fighting off illness, it attacks the body’s own organs and tissues. It’s a very aggressive disease and requires urgent treatment. Many people affected face long hospital stays in intensive care units, uncertain futures or worse. Daisy’s mum Rachel explains, “Daisy was just 25 years old when she was taken by this hideous disease. Up until this she was a force of nature, a vivacious fit and healthy young lady who had never been sick and was going to the gym daily and had just run a 10k road race. She had just bought a house with her long-term boyfriend and couldn’t wait to have children. “She loved travelling and had seen a lot of the world with her family and boyfriend. Her zest for life was something to behold! She was constantly on the go, never sitting still just enjoying life in each and every way she possibly could. To have that life cut short has been absolutely devastating to her family and friends and a truly remarkable fire has been extinguished far too early.” The disease, though rare, has increased across the UK since the pandemic and research is desperately needed. The team at UCLH are undertaking this research, headed by Dr Jessica Manson, consultant rheumatologist, to better understand HLH and how it can be identified as early as possible and treated. All money raised will go directly to this, and hopefully we can help any future patients in Daisy’s position.
Dr Manson explained, “We set up the HLH Research Group at UCLH/UCL with the ultimate aim of improving outcomes for people diagnosed with HLH. One of the recurring questions asked by both patients and their families is, ‘why did this happen to me?’ We believe that finding the answer to this question is the key to understanding the disease and developing effective treatments. “Our team of clinicians and scientists work closely together, using our experience of caring for patients with HLH to generate important research questions. These hypotheses are then tested through detailed laboratory and clinical studies, helping us to uncover the mechanisms behind the disease and what goes wrong in the immune system. By working in this way, we aim not only to understand why HLH develops, but also to discover new and better therapies that can transform the outlook for patients in the future.”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Our Gift of Giving campaign brings some festive magic to patients in hospital over the holiday season. Your donations will help ensure that every person in hospital over Christmas will have a present to open on 25 December.
You can support our appeal by:
- Making a donation – visit our website www.uclhcharity.org.uk
- Buy a ticket for our Christmas raffle - £2 a ticket and some amazing prizes. Visit our website for more details
- Buying Christmas cards from our shop on our website, or come and see us at one of our pop up shops at University College Hospital – keep an eye on our social channels for dates
- Coming to our carol concert on Thursday 11 December at St Giles in the Fields in the heart of London’s west end
- Taking part in the Santa in the City fun run – get your santa suit on and take to the streets of the City of London on Thursday 4 December. Register online at www.uclhcharity.org.uk/events
Coming soon - our 2026 abseil
Put 27 June 2026 in your diary! It’s the date of our second UCLH Charity abseil challenge! Keep a look out for details on how to sign up in the coming weeks.
Change starts with a will
A gift in your will could make a lasting difference at UCLH. We’ve partnered with leading estate planner, Octopus Legacy, so you can write or update your will for free today. Claim your free will by visiting our website or call 020 4525 3605 and quote UCLH Charity.
Support us
There are lots of ways you can support UCLH Charity and make a lasting difference to patients, staff and research at UCLH. Donate online Visit our website to make a safe, secure, payment online. Take part in a challenge We have something for you whatever your fitness level and ability. Go to our events page. Go offline We accept cheques, but no cash, sorry. Send your payments to us at: FREEPOST RTKU-LJHX-LEJH UCLH Charity, 3rd Floor East, University College Hospital 250 Euston Road, London, NW1 2PG Join our growing online community Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for real time news and updates. Do it yourself fundraising From tea parties to quiz nights, we have loads of ideas to inspire you to organise your own fundraising event. Download our fundraising pack and get in touch with our fundraising team at fundraising@uclhcharity.org.uk or call 020 3447 7737. Remember UCLH Charity in your will After you have provided for your loved ones, remembering UCLH in your will is a wonderful way to make a lasting legacy and it’s easy to do. Contact Carol Haraldsson, head of charitable giving, for more information at carol.haraldsson@nhs.net.