Due to current cost of living pressures, the Charity has received feedback from local people who would have loved to sponsor a star this year but are unable to. As such the team have been exploring different ways, they can provide everyone the opportunity to be part of the appeal.
With the help of partners PA Entertainments, for the first time, alongside the main LED lights, additional stars will be projected on to the hospital buildings for one night. This special event will be in memory of those who are no longer with us, as well as to recognise an NHS staff member or department who has gone above and beyond during their work.
Families across Doncaster, Worksop and the surrounding areas are invited to dedicate one of the stars, which will be projected on Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Bassetlaw Hospital, during a special switch-on event in return for a donation of your choosing to the hospital charity.
Katy Cross is a proud supporter of this year’s campaign, she said, “My family has sponsored one of the physical star lights for the last two years in memory of my wonderful mum, but this year we we’re unable to commit to sponsoring a physical star so I’m delighted the charity has been able to find another way we can still be part of the Our Shining Appeal.”
“My mum was in hospital in 2020 when the charity first launched the appeal and we decided to sponsor a star as a family to say thank you to the amazing Doctors and Nurses at Bassetlaw Hospital who were caring for my Mum and to put a smile on her face. Every time we visited, the stars were shining away, making visiting during her final days that little bit easier.
“Having lost my Mum at Christmas, the Our Shining Stars appeal gives me a special way to remember her and it’s just amazing that although my donation may be small, it contributes towards a bigger total, making a big difference to Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Charity, whilst hopefully bringing comfort to the patients, their families and staff who find themselves in similar positions like we did back in 2020.”
For a donation of any sum to Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals’ Charity, families can dedicate one of the stars in memory of their loved ones or in recognition of their NHS heroes through the charity’s ‘Virtual Star Sky’.
This also provides the opportunity to leave a message of dedication, accompanied by a photo which willbe displayed online throughout the festive period.
All of the messages that have been dedicated using the virtual star sky page by Friday 2 December, will be displayed on a board at the charities special switch on events on Thursday 8 December at Bassetlaw Hospital or Friday 9 December at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.
Throughout the last two years, ‘Our Shining Stars’ has raised over £60,000 for Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals’ Charity which has been reinvested into a range of projects across Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Bassetlaw Hospital and Montagu Hospital, including a bereavement suite for our emergency department at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, our wonderful therapy huskies to support staff wellbeing and aid our patient’s recovery, improvements to our ward environments and equipment to help us enhance patient experience such as TV’s and radios to provide a few examples.
These additional extras would not be possible without the support of our community and with your help we can continue to work hard with our Trust to fund innovative and exciting projects that really do make a difference to our patients, their families and our colleagues who care for them.
To dedicate a shining star and make a donation to Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals’ Charity, please visit https://visufund.com/our-shining-stars-2022/
Limited numbers of physical star lights are also available to be sponsored, for more information please visit https://dbthcharity.co.uk/our-shining-stars/