Mum's the word as NHS family hit the heights to fundraise for patients
PICTURED: Siblings Jack and Emily Roberts are raising funds for Tŷ Olwen via a sponsored skydive.
Two siblings working in the NHS are hitting the heights to raise money for specialist palliative care patients in Swansea Bay thanks to their mother’s inspiration.
Emily and Jack Roberts will complete a tandem skydive on July 14 as they look to meet their £1,000 fundraising target in aid of Tŷ Olwen Hospice, which provides specialist palliative and end of life care.
The pair have a long affiliation with the hospice as their mum Karren has worked in Tŷ Olwen since 2008 and been the ward manager for the last four years.
Seeing their mum’s passion for patient care has led to Emily and Jack following in her footsteps.
Emily, 21, works in cellular pathology within Singleton Hospital on a NHS placement, while Jack works for the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust.
Emily said: “As our mum is the ward manager we have seen first-hand the amount of compassion that is delivered into the unit. She is an inspiration to us both.
"We have been around Tŷ Olwen all our lives and it holds a very special place in both our hearts.
PICTURED: Tŷ Olwen ward manager Karren Roberts.
“We have both gone on to work for the NHS due to the passion and empathy we have seen for patient care – we have grown up experiencing that.”
The skydive will also see Emily overcome her fear of heights, but Jack is no stranger to diving out of a plane at 15,000 feet having completed two skydives – one for Tŷ Olwen in 2018.
The pair have set an initial target of £1,000, but are hopeful of exceeding that.
Jack, 24, said: “As a huge thank you for everything Tŷ Olwen does and all the hard work that is put in by staff, volunteers, trustees, paramedics and the hospital team, we’d like to raise as much as possible for them.
“We are targeting £1,000, but it would be fantastic to beat that target as the hospice relies heavily on donations to keep the unit running and need to raise at least £500,000 a year.”
If this story has inspired you to raise funds for your local NHS then Swansea Bay Health Charity would love to hear from you. Email the charity team at: swanseabay.healthcharity@wales.nhs.uk.
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