Charity sets up new home in Singleton
PICTURED: Swansea Bay University Health Board staff, fundraisers and supporters came together for the official opening of the new charity hub in Singleton Hospital.
Swansea Bay Health Charity is branching out after opening its first dedicated hub in Singleton Hospital.
Having previously operated within a temporary base in the health board’s Baglan headquarters, it has a new home in Singleton having replaced the former newsagents near the hospital’s main entrance.
The hub is open Monday to Friday (8am-5pm) and will provide staff, patients and visitors with a ‘one-stop shop’ for information and updates on the charity’s fundraising projects and also how to make donations or support it in other ways.
The hub officially opened on Thursday, with senior figures within the health board in attendance.
PICTURED: Musician and entertainer Mal Pope, who is championing the charity's Cwtsh Clos campaign, officially opened the new hub along with Nuria Zolle, Chair of the Charitable Funds Committee.
The health board’s official charity plays a vital role in raising money for projects and activities that support patients, whilst it also supports a range of projects to improve the working conditions and support available to staff.
Lewis Bradley, Charity Support Manager, said: "We’re truly grateful to everyone who has helped get our very first charity hub up and running.
“We used part of a grant obtained from NHS Charities Together to design it while Mechatronics Systems Wales Ltd also helped with providing furniture, so without that help we wouldn’t have been in a position to officially open the hub.
“The aim of the hub is to raise awareness around some of the main campaigns in Singleton Hospital.
“It will also allow us to engage with the wider public and staff to talk about fundraising and how 100 per cent of donations goes back into supporting projects within the health board that will have a lasting legacy.
“If anyone wants to donate at the hub they can do that via a QR code which takes you to the website page, while cash donations can be made via the volunteer desk directly opposite it.”
The charity, which has undergone a relaunch, is responsible for a number of funds for various wards and services.
PICTURED: Swansea Bay Health Charity staff Cathy Stevens, Mike Westerman and Lewis Bradley.
Two of the charity’s main campaigns at Singleton are the South West Wales Cancer Centre (SWWCC) fund and Cwtsh Clos.
The SWWCC treats patients from Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, across all of West Wales and as far north as Aberystwyth, plus patients further east to Bridgend, with lifesaving chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
The Cwtsh Clos campaign hopes to raise £160,000 to pay for the refurbishment of five properties which offer comfortable and welcoming accommodation for families who need to be close to their babies while they’re receiving treatment in Singleton’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
There are many other funds which the public can raise money for, with information available at the hub.
So if someone wants to give something back for the care they or a loved one has received, the charity ensures the funds raised will go directly there.
The charity does not replace NHS funding but uses generous donations received from patients, their families, staff and local communities to provide above and beyond what the NHS can provide.
Nuria Zolle, Chair of the Charitable Funds Committee, said: “It’s hugely important that the charity is visible and can reach as many members of the public and health board staff as possible - the new hub gives it that opportunity.
PICTURED: The new hub is located near the main entrance of Singleton Hospital.
“The work of the charity team helps generate vital fundraising which helps our patients and staff, and I’m delighted it has a dedicated base in Singleton.
“The charity can now continue to grow and share the fine work it does, along with showing where fundraising is spent and how that helps the health board in terms of the care it provides.
To find out more, follow this link to the Swansea Bay Health Charity website.
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