The calendar is the product of efforts from the Fundraising Team within Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals’ Charity, with gifts donated by a range of local businesses, including Amazon, DFS, Owlerton Stadium, Doncaster Dome and the Savoy cinema chain.
Every single member of the Trust’s 6,600 strong team, which work across Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Bassetlaw Hospital, Montagu Hospital and a number of external clinics, have been entered into the randomised draw automatically. The lucky winners are contacted daily, and each day marked by the Trust’s Chief Executive, Richard Parker OBE, with a personalised message and thank you for colleagues’ efforts throughout the past 22 months since the pandemic began.
Richard takes up the story: “Since March 2020, colleagues have been absolutely extraordinary in their efforts and we cannot thank them enough. The dedication, perseverance and can-do shown by everyone within the Trust has been truly exemplary, and, as we head further into what promises to be another difficult winter period, we wanted to ensure that staff knew just how much we appreciate their work.
“Each prize has been sourced from a number of kind sponsors, and drawn completely at random. Every single member of the team has been included automatically, and we have not asked anything of colleagues but to cross their fingers and hope their name is drawn. We believe this Advent Calendar is just one more way to say ‘thank you’, show our appreciation and, crucially, spread a bit of festive fun.”
So far, five prizes have been, with lucky members of the team receiving:
- Ring Indoor Camera donated by Amazon
- Echo Auto donated by Amazon
- FIFA 22 for Xbox One and Series X/S donated by Amazon
- ZeroWater 10 Cup Ready-Pour Pitcher donated by Amazon
- Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Piccolo XS pod capsule coffee machine donated by Amazon.
Richard said: “On behalf of all at the Trust, I also want to share my thanks with our kind sponsors. The support shown to our hospitals throughout the past number of years has been nothing short of incredible – thank you for helping us to go above and beyond for both our patients and our staff.
This latest initiative to show appreciation to staff throughout Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals follows a series of similar ‘random acts of kindness’, which included an exclusive event at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in September, and all colleagues will receive a Christmas gift of £25’s worth of vouchers later in December.
If you would like to get involved in fundraising for our hospitals, or have a prize to donate to our Advent Calendar, please contact the Communications Team on Tel: 01302 644244, email: DBTH.Charity@nhs.net or head to http://www.dbth.nhs.uk/charity.
