Thousands of children will benefit from a £92,000 donation to reduce their stress while in hospital, thanks to kind-hearted colleagues at Tesco stores across Birmingham.
Stores in the city and across the Birmingham area started raising funds last summer, with the aim of helping youngsters at Birmingham Children's Hospital.
The grand total has now been presented to the hospital, and to show their appreciation the hospital’s charity has recognised Tesco as one of their 100 Heroes for 2023, celebrating the retailer’s charitable efforts.
Miranda Williams, head of public fundraising at Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity, said: "We are simply blown away by the phenomenal amount raised by Tesco, its incredible colleagues and generous customers. It will help improve the experience of our young patients greatly."
“The money raised will support our Virtual Reality (VR) Appeal, helping to purchase VR headsets which can transport our young patients into a lifelike, three-dimensional world where they can – for a short period of time – forget about why they are in hospital and the medical procedure they’re about to receive. We’re so grateful to all the Tesco stores across Birmingham.”
The stores chose Birmingham Children's Hospital to benefit from their fundraising because of its importance to the city and to many Tesco colleagues. Tesco Community Champions throughout the Birmingham area helped lead the fundraising efforts in Tesco’s larger stores.
Kevin Twynholm, store manager at the Tesco New Oscott Extra store in Sutton Coldfield, said: "It became very evident that we had chosen the right charity, as stories quickly began surfacing of just how many of our colleagues had used the hospital’s services or knew someone that was supported by the care available."
"Our goal was to raise funds for the hospital’s VR project but we never thought we'd raise so much money, which goes to show what people can do when they put their minds to it."
"Each store and colleague involved has done something truly amazing which will make a very big difference to so many at the hospital."
"We want to thank everyone, including our customers, for the generous donations, and we can't wait to see how we can support Birmingham Children's Hospital long into the future.”
The £92,000 raised will go towards supporting distraction therapy and play for children in the hospital who are undergoing procedures. The experience can sometimes be traumatic for patients, and so distraction therapies, like the VR Headsets, can help to reduce any anxiety.
Each store throughout Birmingham was able to decide how colleagues would raise funding. Many held raffles and competitions using teddy bears donated from the children's hospital, and others held book sales, dressing-up days, and sponsored runs. The hospital's large teddy mascot was also passed throughout stores in Tesco's signature online delivery van to boost efforts.
To find out more about Birmingham's Children’s Hospital Charity, visit their website here
