In tandem with the NHS’ 74th birthday, health and social workers can also take the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on their incredible role taking care of the public, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Charity are delighted to be taking part in this year’s event and on a local level all funds raised will contribute towards key projects at our trust supporting colleagues’ mental health as well as providing additional equipment, services and amenities for our patients, visitors and staff which cannot be funded by the NHS alone.
This year, NHS Charities Together hopes to make the event the biggest NHS Big Tea to date, with a collective fundraising target of over £775,000. This will include donations from corporate sponsors including the headline sponsor Morrisons, who supported the campaign by raising £250,000 last year and will be urging their customers and staff to take part once again.
Suzy Brain England, Chair of the Board at DBTH, said: “Last year’s NHS Big Tea gave our staff members a terrific morale boost and saw us raise £3,000 which was directly reinvested into health and wellbeing initiatives at the Trust. It is an event which allows us to show our appreciation for the fantastic work that our staff have been doing, and continue to do during one of the most challenging periods in the history of the NHS.
“This year we hope to raise am even greater contribution towards this terrific cause and are asking those who live in Doncaster, Bassetlaw, and Mexborough to host, or attend, a tea party in aid of your local hospital. We are also hosting our very own tea party at Doncaster College on 5th July and would be delighted if local residents would come and join the celebrations.
“Alongside the tea party, we will be undertaking store collections with Morrisons from the week commencing 27th June until 3rdJuly, and are calling for volunteers to support this. If you are interested in volunteering to help with these collections, can you please contact the charity team on DBTH.Charity@nhs.net.”
Ellie Orton OBE, Chief Executive at NHS Charities Together, said: “The NHS can’t face every challenge alone, and the network of NHS charities is proud to have funded hundreds of incredible projects supporting staff, patients and communities. By hosting tea parties and inviting your friends, colleagues or classmates, the NHS Big Tea allows us to come together and say an enormous thank you to our incredible NHS – especially after all they’ve been through these last two years, and the ongoing challenges they continue to face.
“So, whether at home, in the office or in school, we’re asking the nation to pop the kettle on, grab the biscuits, and raise vital funds to help the NHS go further this July.”
Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Executive, said: “No one in the country has been untouched by the events of the last two years and NHS staff along with our wonderful volunteers, workers who kept our shops and public services running and those who kept schools and offices open across the country are no exception.
“The NHS Big Tea is an excellent opportunity for communities to come together and pay tribute to brilliant staff and volunteers, who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic to keep us and our loved ones safe.
“The effects of the pandemic are still being felt even as the NHS and the country now looks to recover and rebuild, so the continued support of local communities remains as vital as it is hugely appreciated.”
To sign up to host your own NHS Big Tea event and receive a fundraising support pack, please visit www.dbthcharity.co.uk/nhs-big-tea/.