On May Bank holiday weekend twenty primary schools across Sutton took part in the Captain Tom 100 Challenge to raise funds to support Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Charity. As long as they reached the target of 100, the young pupils could do whatever they liked. So they hopped, skipped, walked and ran their way to raising a staggering £28,000!
The fundraising will initially help fund services and equipment which was discussed and agreed upon by children at school council meetings held via Zoom before the event. In recognition for all their hard work during the pandemic, the council chose first and foremost to support staff health and wellbeing. They also wanted to help the Magic Carpet appeal for Casey Ward’s young patients, and then they added a new bladder scanner for Urology to the list, and got to learn about why we have bladders at the same time!
To celebrate this massive achievement, forty pupils – two from each school – gathered on the Open Space in front of St Helier hospital. Collectively they handed over a huge cheque befitting the size of their fundraising to Deputy Chief Nurse Marion Louki, Hazel Gleed of the Women’s and Children’s Division, and Joanna Cooper of Urology who in turn took the opportunity to thank the children for their phenomenal efforts.
Marion Louki said: “Raising £28,000 for our hospitals is an absolutely remarkable amount! On behalf of my colleagues here today and everyone at Epsom and St Helier, we can’t thank the children enough, and all the grown-ups who no doubt gave them a helping hand! They are truly another shining example of our community, and also of the younger generation, coming together to thank and support their local NHS. They are ALL heroes.”
