The Children's Hospital Charity Awards
Our annual awards celebrate all of the amazing people and the things they've done that support Sheffield Children's Hospital and The Children's Hospital Charity throughout the year. All of our nominees are incredible, and we're delighted to introduce you to our winners for 2023.
Volunteer Award: Julie and Dennis Jephson
Julie and Dennis are long-term supporters of The Children’s Hospital Charity, and they pride themselves on being part of Team Theo. They started volunteering over ten years ago and can always be relied on to help when needed. Whether it be a charity event like the Chatsworth Walk or Glow in the Park, an event being held by a supporter or an event that needs a bucket collector or a charity stall, Julie and Dennis will always be there representing Team Theo to the best of their ability. They are all-round fantastic advocates.
Young Supporter Award: Layton Cawthorn
When 12-year-old Layton got the devastating news that his best friend, Daisy, had a tumor in her right kidney, he wanted to go above and beyond to show his support for her by raising money for The Children’s Hospital Charity. He decided to run 2K every day for 109 days, which was the length of time Daisy’s chemotherapy treatment would last. Layton kept his promise, however, Daisy’s cancer returned and Layton wanted to continue his support, so he carried on running and promised to do so until she finished her treatment. Daisy finished her chemotherapy in June 2022 and Layton’s last 2K run for Daisy was his 152nd! He raised over £7,400 for Daisy and Ward 6 (where children and teenagers with cancer and blood disorders are cared for), funding enough ice pops for the patients and families on Ward 6 for the next five years, as well as self-care packs for families staying on the ward, aptly named ‘Layton’s Luxuries’.
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Community Group Award: Christmas Tree Collection
The Christmas Tree Collection is run by landscape gardeners Joel Berry of Berry’s Trees and Gardens Ltd and Mitchel Ingham of JM Trees and Groundcare. It takes place every January and they collect trees after the festive season to raise money for Sheffield Children’s. They put in a lot of time throughout December and January to look at the logistics and most of this is done in personal time. In 2022, the collection raised £22,368 – the highest amount ever! Their fundraising started in 2018 and each year, it’s gotten bigger and better.
Individual Supporter Award: David and Laura Howe
David and Laura’s journey with The Children’s Hospital Charity started in 2020 after their son Oliver was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Since then, they have been on a huge fundraising journey themselves as well as with family and friends, taking on things like the Great North Run and supporting the Charity’s Snowflake Appeal. David works at Morrisons and is a big reason for several stores choosing to support the Charity over the last few years. Unfortunately, Oliver lost his battle this year, but David and Laura are focused on carrying on his legacy. Team Oliver Howe has raised over £40,000 so far for the Charity and continues to do amazing things in Oliver’s name. They are true inspirations!
Active Challenge Supporter Award: Austin Law
Austin was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called cystinuria in 2018. He had major surgery to remove a kidney stone, however, the damage from the stone has limited his kidney function to 20%. Austin, who is 8 years old, wanted to say thank you for his ongoing specialist care, so he cycled 102 miles in 9 days around Lytham St Annes, to achieve the same distance from his home in Lancashire to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Overall, Austin’s cycle challenge raised £1,773!
Educational Establishment Award: Mosborough Primary School
Mosborough Primary School has supported The Children’s Hospital Charity over the last four years, as many students and families have had personal experiences at Sheffield Children’s. In 2022, they started their fundraising journey by hosting a springtime farmers’ market. This event saw each class given £25 to create something to sell. Each class created a stall and ran it on the day with their teachers and in total, the event raised £1,497.02. The school held another farmers’ market in the Autumn, and this again was very popular, raising £1,330.09! They finished off their 2022 fundraising with a Sparkle and Shine Concert for parents and family members, with the money raised going towards their snowflake. This event portrayed everything a community event should be – inclusion, passion and enthusiasm.
Special Recognition Award: Team Jack
Team Jack was formed when Jack, who was aged just 15, sadly passed away from an aggressive brain cancer back in October 2018. He was treated at Sheffield Children’s and spent over 75 nights in hospital. After his passing, his family and friends decided to fundraise for the two organisations that helped Jack and his family throughout his treatment – The Children’s Hospital Charity and Young Lives vs Cancer. From his close family members to his school friends, everyone has got involved in some way to remember Jack. Since 2019, Team Jack has raised over £100,000 for Sheffield Children’s which is incredible. They are creating a fantastic, lasting legacy in the name of Jack.
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Sheffield Children’s Trust Staff Supporter Award: Janine Reynolds
Janine works in the Sleep Team at Sheffield Children’s and has been a longstanding supporter of the Charity, galvanising her team to maintain this relationship. She has invited the Charity team to events so they can see the impact of their fundraising and she also took the time to speak at one of their team meetings, subsequently giving the Charity 'food for thought' on how they could best support her team. An area of particular interest was the annual Narcolepsy Day which sparked an idea to apply to a local funder to help pay for the away day for patients and families. This year the Sleep Team took part in Pyjama Day, and this was championed by Janine. She arranged for the team to hold a cake sale and a raffle. She visited her local community to arrange donations for her raffle and already has intentions to grow this bigger and better next year. Janine’s support of the Charity has also encouraged families who use the Sleep Service to go on to be fundraisers and donators.
New Corporate Partnership Award: First Direct
Led by Sarah Kilbane, First Direct Leeds came on board to fundraise and support the Charity in 2022. Sarah helped to organise First Direct staff to volunteer their time to make snowflakes and, subsequently, they were able to claim match funding against the project. They also took part in the Yorkshire Tough Mudder in August, which saw eight staff members take on the challenge, raising over £2,000. Sarah also set up a JustGiving page to collect donations via the Leeds Arena which First Direct sponsors. This raised over £3,000 which is amazing!
Existing Corporate Partnership Award: HSBC
HSBC’s head office and local branches have supported the Charity since 2012 but in 2022, they went above and beyond with several different arms of the organisation coming together. Firstly, eight members of HSBC Fargate took on Tough Mudder and raised £7,425. HSBC also sponsored several snowflakes across multiple sites, and their staff got really involved, volunteering to receive snowflake-making kits and creating snowflakes in branch themselves! They also sponsored the brand-new Dragon on the hospital for Lunar New Year, taking a £1,750 sponsorship. Through all of their activities in 2022, HSBC raised over £28K.
Corporate Special Recognition Award (Company): Elev8
Elev8 Access Platforms Ltd came on board in 2020 to help in a big way with the charity’s snowflakes campaign. Elev8 provide qualified specialist staff and equipment to install the snowflakes on Sheffield Children’s Hospital, including the very hard-to-reach extra-large snowflakes on the top of the building. For the 2022 install and take down, Elev8 branded one of their largest access vehicles with the Charity’s logo, which was incredible and provided great photo opportunities to promote the company’s support of the Charity. Elev8 staff give up their weekends to install the snowflakes and take them down; they’re always happy and hardworking, waving to patients as they work.
Corporate Special Recognition Award (Individual): Maddy Wood, Morrisons
Maddy is the Morrisons Community Champion at the Sheffield Halfway store. In 2022, she supported the Charity in so many brilliant ways. In October, both Maddy and her husband took part in the Charity’s abseil event – something that was completely out of her comfort zone. At Christmas, Maddy not only sponsored a small Snowflake for her store but also sponsored an extra-large snowflake with the Catcliffe store for a patient. She also took a £1,750 sponsorship of the Dragon on the Hospital for Lunar New Year. Maddy not only galvanises the support at her Morrisons store but always fundraises in creative ways herself. She has a small business she runs at home where she prints designs on mugs and other items and sells these to raise funds for the Charity. She is always incredibly generous with things like cakes for family days, food and water for races and events and has also provided other items in the past like microwaves for one of the hospital wards. She also volunteers her time at events – at the Charity’s snowflake switch-on in 2022, she ran the raffle stand with her husband.
Outstanding Contribution: Alex Gardner
Alex is an ambassador for the Charity and has supported them for many years. She has raised money and awareness and has hosted lots of their events including the Chatsworth Walk and Glow in the Park. In 2021, inspired by the Charity’s supporters, she climbed Ben Nevis, documenting her journey as she went and raising an incredible £2,000. She’s supported members of the Charity team through mentoring and coaching and has advocated for them at networking events around Sheffield. She’s a credit to the Charity team and truly encapsulates the meaning of ambassador.
Lifetime Achievement: Paul Firth
Paul will soon stand down as Chair of the Charity, a role that he has held for over 25 years. During that time the charity has raised over £50m for Sheffield Children’s and his determination to help raise as much as possible to help children and young people has not diminished. Paul is driven by wanting to make sure that every child that is treated at Sheffield Children’s receives the best possible care, and the research that we fund helps children nationally and internationally. He has not only led the Board of Trustees, but he has also been an active donor and fundraiser for the charity - he trekked across the Great Wall of China to raise money for the charity, as well as taking on a host of other charity challenges. Paul has also supported the sculpture trails, with one of the Sheffield Elephants having pride of place in his house. Paul has also been an active ambassador and advocate for Sheffield Children’s, attending and speaking at events, as well as encouraging those who hold positions of power to do more for Sheffield Children’s and encouraging them to help promote the fantastic hospital that we have here in Sheffield.
