The appeal, which surpassed its £150,000 target by thousands of pounds, saw the funding of a specialist maternity bereavement suite at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Also funded was a mobile ultrasound scanner, located at Bassetlaw Hospital, providing a more ‘dignified’ and ‘comfortable’ experience for patients with pregnancy complications.
Sarah Dunning, Fundraising Manager at DBTH Charity, said: “As the first major capital fundraising appeal for the charity, words cannot describe how amazing this recognition is.”
The award, which focused on the marketing and promotion of the campaign, praised the appeal’s success and especially despite limited resources and with only a small team.
According to the Doncaster Chamber Facebook page, the judges were ‘blown away’ by how ‘all-encompassing’ the Serenity Appeal was, and how the charity and the Trust were able to ‘really connect’ with the target audience.
Rhian Morris, Specialist Bereavement Midwife at DBTH, played a pivotal role in spreading the word and creating a local community that would go on to enable the success of the campaign.
Sarah said: “The success of the appeal wouldn’t have been possible without the support of people like Rhian, our local community, including the businesses and community groups who went above and beyond to make such an important project a reality.”
Such an undertaking was also immensely supported by the estates’ and communications teams at DBTH, as well as the architects who made the vision for the suite come to life, Sarah added.
Far from the first award the appeal has received, Rhian received several individual awards of recognition on behalf of her contributions to the Serenity Appeal.
The Lions (Thorne Rural and Tickhill & District), who contributed a massive £40,000 to the campaign, surprised Rhian with a unique and rare recognition award for her contribution to serving the local community.
Rhian said: “It was a very tough road on the Serenity Appeal’s journey for me personally, where literally lots of blood, sweat and tears went into all of the fundraising challenges and efforts.”
Her efforts were nothing in comparison to what the families go through on their journey, Rhian explained.
She said: “To have won the ‘Campaign of the Year’ is fantastic and highlights just how needed this appeal was.”
Rhian also took home the award for ‘Ante-Natal/Post-Natal Worker or Volunteer of the Year’ at the Doncaster Mumbler Awards, 2023.
This is a night to recognise family-friendly businesses and individuals who make a difference to parents in Doncaster.
Laura Bradie, a passionate and staunch supporter of the appeal, who raised over £6,400 through raffles, also won for her contributions to the campaign in the category of ‘The Doncaster Mumbler Community Award’.
Now with the proud title of ‘award-winning campaign’, the small but mighty charity plans to focus on increasing its presence within the community, and embedding itself as the local charity of choice.
To find out more about the incredible work of DBTH Charity, visit their website: www.dbthcharity.co.uk